Diana Spencer was born on 1 July 1961, in Sandringham,
Norfolk. She was the third child of Viscount and Viscountess Althorp (née
Frances Roche, later Shand Kydd). The Spencer family was hoping for a male heir
to carry on the Spencer title. The Spencer family is one of Great Britain's
oldest and most important families, closely allied with the royal family for
several generations. As the family was expecting a boy, no name was chosen for
a week, until they settled on Diana Frances, after a Spencer ancestress and her
mother. Diana was the sister of Lady Sarah McCorquodale; Jane Fellowes,
Baroness Fellowes; and Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer.
