Although she is known as one of the most photographed celebrities in the world, Princess Diana was more importantly a humanitarian worker and dedicated leader to all of those who admired her. Despite the fact that her life was filled with hardships along with constant media attention, Diana still able to find ways to use her celebrity for the greater good of others.
Diana was born July 1, 1961, into an aristocratic family. She had royal blood and had been acquainted with the royal family for all of her life. Diana met her future husband Charles, Prince of Wales while working as an assistant kindergarten teacher in Knightsbridge, London. She had two children with her husband, Prince William and Prince Henry. But her marriage with Charles did not go smoothly, and the couple ended up separating in 1992 and divorcing in 1996. Throughout this difficult time, Diana managed to maintain a high public profile and continue to undertake more activities on behalf of her charities. She realized the power and influence she possessed over her people, and began to use her international celebrity in order to help raise awareness about many different issues. Diana tragically died at the age of 36 after being in a devastating car crash. Princess Diana was an extremely influential woman who used her royal position to positively change the world through exemplifying leadership qualities such as being committed to justice, having a vision, and possessing the ability to gain the trust of multitudes of people.
One of Diana’s central leadership qualities was her being committed to justice. To be committed to justice means to be aware of the needs of local and global communities. Diana used her time, resources, and talents to improve her world and work toward a more just and accepting society. She did this through many service and charity projects which aided those who were unfairly judged or taken advantage of in society.
Diana, Princess of Wales was a strong supporter of those with HIV/AIDS. During the late 80’s and early 90’s, there was a large stigma present in society focused towards patients who had contracted AIDS. One of the most common misconceptions that arose during the time was the belief that AIDS was a highly contagious disease. When Diana became one of the first celebrities to be photographed touching a person with AIDS in 1987, she reduced this stigma greatly. She actively worked to reduce the fear and disgust that the public felt towards people with AIDS by wearing a red ribbon in support of the disease, publicly speaking out on the matter, as well as financially supporting the work of National Aids Trust.
Another justice issue that Diana was involved with was the effort to ban landmines. In many impoverished war torn countries, landmines were going off and harming innocent people far after conflict had ceased. The topic of banning landmines was quite controversial, so when a photo of Diana touring them was released in 1997, she received public criticism as well as support. Despite the criticism, Diana stuck to her belief of providing justice to those who are treated unfairly as she worked with organizations such as the International Red Cross and the Crescent Movement to put pressure on the passing of the ban on landmine use. She even participated in a television special to bring more awareness to the subject of injustice surrounding landmines. The special focused on one of Diana’s many visits to clinics and hospitals in Africa, where she spent time with those affected by landmine explosions. She visited the Red Cross Outpost in Angola as well as prosthesis clinic in Huambo.
Diana continued her justice work through an organization that she started called Centrepoint. Centrepoint worked to bring homeless youth off the streets and give them employment. Youth unemployment was at record high levels, and leaving homelessness was a very difficult challenge. Diana had a passion for helping all of those in need, and the youth were no exception to her generosity. She even brought her two sons to Centrepoint in order to remind them of how fortunate they were, and how teen and child homeless was an extremely relevant issue in their society. Thanks to Diana’s hard and dedicated work, the charity is still running today and is doing its best to help young people get off of the streets.
Diana’s influence regarding justice issues continued long after her tragic death. A fund was created in Diana’s memory called the Diana Memorial Fund. The aim of the fund was to create a lasting legacy to the Princess’ large quantity of humanitarian and charity work. It raised over £130,000,000 and spent 81% of the money on charitable expenses. The fund supported countless organizations that helped multiple causes for justice such as palliative care, refugees, penal reform, and much more. The fund continued Diana’s legacy and reflected her passion for bringing justice and support to those affected by stigma and disaster all around the world.
Another central leadership trait that Diana, Princess of Wales possessed was having a vision. Having leadership vision meants to have the ability to focus one’s attention on what matters most in the world; a person with good leadership vision has a goal of what he or she wants to accomplish in life and what kind of leader they wish to be. Diana had a strict vision of how she viewed the ideal world, and she carried out this vision as best she could through her work with charities and her humanitarian views. Diana conceptualized a world with less suffering, and she acted on this vision.
One of the charities that Diana worked with in order to carry out her vision was the Leprosy Mission. The Leprosy Mission was an organization dedicated to providing medicine, treatment