Rarely-Seen Photos Show a Private Side of Princess Diana's Childhood

Young Diana, pictured in her stroller at Park House, Sandringham in Norfolk, 1963. She was born into an aristocratic family; the Queen even attended her parents' wedding.

Princess Diana as a chubby-cheeked two-year-old at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. Early in her childhood, she and her family lived in a rented property on the Queen's estate.

Diana at three years old. "She was quite a lovable child," au pair Inge Crane told CNN. "She was very, very cuddly."

A young Diana Spencer pushes a stroller at Park House, Sandringham in Norfolk. In 1983, the Queen turned Park House into a hotel specifically designed to accommodate disabled people and their families.

Diana, pictured circa 1965. Her brother, Charles, would later say she started exhibiting a spirit of giving and "fighting for good causes" at a young age.

Diana playing with her brother Charles Edward Maurice on the grounds of Park House, Sandringham when she was six years old.

A photo from a private family album shows Diana posing cheekily as a young girl. Obviously a natural in front of the camera, she also had a keen sense of style from an early age.

Diana with her brother Charles at their home in Berkshire.
"Diana deserves a place in history," Charles would say after her death. "This was a special person, and not just a beautiful one."

Diana pictured during a summer vacation. "Diana's dreams all through her childhood really were just to be happily married and to have a large family," nanny Mary Clarke told CNN.

A barefoot Diana poses with a croquet mallet while on holiday in Itchenor, West Sussex.

Always poised, even when jumping off a slide into the family's pool at Park House, a youthful Diana shows off her fun side. Her red swimming badges can be seen at the bottom of her bathing suit.

Diana pictured during a summer vacation in Itchenor, West Sussex in Britain.

Diana grew up surrounded by dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, and horses. "She loved animals when she was a child," her mother said. "She loved everything that was small and furry or had feathers." Diana learned to ride horses before she was four, but after she broke her arm in a riding accident, her love faded. Still, her empathy for all living creatures would be a hallmark of her life. Here she holds her pet guinea pig during a pet show in Sandringham. She brought her guinea pig to her first boarding school, Riddlesworth Hall, where she was made head of "Pets' Corner," where the students' pets were housed.