Diana, Princess of Wales married.
Diana , Princess of Wales ( Diana Frances ; née Spencer ; 1 July 1961 -- 31 August 1997 ) , was the first wife of Charles , Prince of Wales , who is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II . Her wedding to the Prince of Wales was held at St Paul 's Cathedral on 29 July 1981 and reached a global television audience of over 750 million people . During her marriage , Diana bore the titles Princess of Wales , Duchess of Cornwall , Duchess of Rothesay , and Countess of Chester . The marriage produced two sons , the princes William and Harry , who were then respectively second and third in the line of succession to the British throne . Diana remained the object of worldwide media scrutiny during and after her marriage , which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996 .