What Was The Princess Diana Charity Work All About?
The shy schoolteacher who became engaged to Charles, Prince of Wales, was quickly thrust into the spotlight until her untimely death in 1997; all eyes were on the doings of Princess Diana. During the sixteen years between her royal marriage and her passing, she became one of the most liked and highly regarded of the royals. When she passed away people all around the globe mourned the loss, almost as if they had lost a cherished friend. In many ways, Diana’s presence is still felt through the many Princess Diana charity work programs that are still underway.
When Lady Diana Spencer married Charles, the heir to the throne of Britain, in 1981, her life was forever changed in ways that she surely had never even imagined. It was in 1987 that voluntary charity work seemed to take on a more important role to her. It was at that time that Diana participated in the opening of a hospital ward that was dedicated to AIDS patients. People from around the globe were in shock when they saw that she chose not to wear protective clothing because the common belief, at that time, was that AIDS could be spread by casual contact.
In a sense, the Princess Diana charity work that she became so well-known for began that very day. While many people wondered, including the Queen and some of her advisors, if it was appropriate for the Princess to be involved with a cause such as AIDS, in some ways the controversy seemed to solidify her commitment to AIDS and other types of charity volunteer work.
Soon enough, it was not only the AIDS hospital volunteer work that gained from Princess Diana’s awareness and ministrations. Diana became the royal patron of no less than seventy different volunteer charity agencies and in short order had a packed schedule to try keep up with all of them. At first, the needs of babies and child welfare received most of her attention, but it was not long before Princess Diana took on many other dimensions as she discovered other opportunities for volunteer work London and through the British Empire.
After the AIDS cause, the volunteer charity organization that Diana became most closely aligned with was a group called Birthright and she soon became a patron of the group. Birthright is an organization that functions as the appeal department of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The mission of Birthright is to do significant amounts of fundraising to support research of the common problems of unborn children, including occurrences such as stillbirths, infant deaths and the complications of infertility.
Princess Diana’s tireless work on the behalf of numerous voluntary charity organizations helped to throw a spotlight on many of the issues that were being addressed by international volunteer work programs and was instrumental in helping to encourage people around the globe to donate of their time, skills, effort, and money to good causes. Princess Diana did much more than just raise funds for various charities; she compassionately served those in need and inspired countless people to follow her lead.
“There is something quite moving about the way she talks with patients. Not only is she concerned about their problems, but they know she is. She understands the joy of having a baby and the anguish if something goes wrong. She felt very lucky and privileged to have had two healthy children, says Vivienne Parry, one of the group’s national organizers.
Princess Diana had a strong determination to help charities that had been rejected by others, and her efforts extended to charity work overseas as well. Touched by the awful effects of leprosy, Diana became a patron of the Leprosy Mission. She was admired for the way that she not only shook the hands of those with leprosy but also would sit with them on their beds and visit with them like an old friend.
Through the brief years of her life, the Princess Diana charity work that she engaged in clearly demonstrated to others that there was no need to be apprehensive about working with the victims of various illnesses and diseases. Princess Diana lived a full and compassionate life that was influential and encouraging to millions and her dedicated charity work will not be forgotten.
