The Princess That Never Got To Be Queen
There is one thing that members of the British royal family all seem to have in common and that is their love of animals. As you can see in this colorized photograph from 1972, Princess Diana, then simply Lady Diana Spencer, loved animals from an early age. Shown here is an eleven-year-old Diana with her beloved guinea pig, Peanuts.
A colorized photo of Lady Diana Spencer with her pet guinea pig, taken in 1972. (https://www.reddit.com/r/ColorizedHistory/comments/6wkypk/young_princess_diana_wit)h_her_guinea_pig_peanuts/
Diana had a relatively unhappy childhood and an even more unhappy marriage to Prince Charles. Perhaps the princess found the unconditional love she so wanted from the many pets that she had during her life.
A Troubled Childhood
Lady Diana Spencer had an unhappy childhood. (oprahmag.com)
Sure, the Spencer family enjoyed a 500-year-long noble lineage that afforded them a life of luxury, but life was not a fairytale. Diana’s father was John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and, later, the 8th Earl of Spencer. Her mother was Frances Ruth Roche. The couple wed at Westminster Abbey in 1954. Together they had five children. One, a boy named John Spencer, died just hours after his birth. The others were Lady Sarah, Lady Jane, Lady Diana, and Charles Spencer. It was an unhappy marriage. Frances left her husband to be with her lover, Peter Shand Kydd. The divorce was a long, drawn-out affair with multiple court dates to air their dirty laundry. Frances Spencer eventually had to relinquish custody of the kids. Although Diana often said she was raised by her father, in truth, she was raised by nannies and boarding schools.
A Love of Animals
Diana preferred smaller animals, like hamsters and guinea pigs. (pinterest.com)
Lady Diana grew up on a vast English country estate. As a young child, she had a pony that she adored. All the Spencer children learned to ride horses, an important skill for all British noble children. Diana was four years old when began riding. She was quite good at it until she had a horseback riding accident that left her with a broken arm. After that, Diana was skittish around horses, but she fortunately had plenty of other animals to adore.
Diana's Pets
Diana's childhood home. (tripsavvy.com)
As a child, Lady Diana has two hamsters as pets. She named the hamsters Little Black Muff and Little Black Puff. She adored these hamsters and reportedly kept two pictures of them on her nightstand. She also had pet rabbits and an orange cat named Marmalade.
Peanuts, the Guinea Pig
The original black and white version of the colorized photo at the top of this article. (wmagazine.com)
One of Lady Diana’s favorite furry companions of her childhood, however, was her guinea pig, Peanuts. The two were inseparable. But then Diana was being sent away to a boarding school, Riddlesworth Hall. A shy and sensitive child, Diana was so distraught at the thought of leaving her Peanuts behind. In the end, she brought Peanuts with her when she went to school. Diana was given a special task at her school. She was named the head of “pets corner”. The headmistress at the school felt that the task of caring for the school’s classroom pets would give Diana the boost of confidence she needed. In addition, Diana entered Peanuts in various pets shows. Peanuts won a prize in the “fur and feather” category at the Sandringham Show.
Sharing Her Love of Animals With Her Sons
Diana's sons, William and Harry, with their own pets. (pinterest.com)
Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, on July 29, 1981. By all accounts, their marriage was a tumultuous one. Diana found some comfort in sharing her affection for animals with own sons, William and Harry. The boys had hamsters, guinea pigs, a pet rabbit, and a dog.
The Cycle Continues
Prince George with the family dog, Lupa. (usatoday.com)
Although Princess Diana died in 1997, her love of animals seems to have been passed on to her sons and the grandchildren she never met. Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the two oldest children of William and Kate, have a pet hamster named Marvin that they absolutely adore. The family also had a cocker spaniel named Lupo. This dog, which died a few months ago, was a gift to William and Kate on their wedding day by Kate’s brother, James.
A Royal Love of Animals
A young Queen Elizabeth with her dogs. akc.org)
Prince William and his children can also claim their love of animals from the Queen. Queen Elizabeth II is a huge fan of both horses and dogs. He inherited racing thoroughbreds from her father, King George VI upon his death in 1952. She had a great eye for horses and was an accomplished horse breeder. She shares her fondness for horses with dogs. Since she ascended to the throne in 1952, the Queen has owned more than forty Pembroke Welsh Corgis. In fact, she has had at least one corgi as a pet in her life at any given point from 1933 to the present.
Demonstrating Compassion
Princess Diana was devoted to a number of charitable causes. (royal.uk)
Princess Diana, in her short lifetime, earned a reputation for being a caring and compassionate person. Her fans referred to her as the “People’s Princess.” She devoted her time to charitable causes, including AIDS, landmine awareness, leprosy, and teenage homelessness. She also contributed to causes of animal rights. As we can see from this colorized photograph of Diana at age eleven with her guinea pig, Peanuts, her heart was forever committed to her furry friends.
