Happy Birthday, Princess Diana: 50 Rare Images of an Icon

A Grand Departure
Diana leaves the gardens of Buckingham Palace following the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981. Thirty years later, her son William would be photographed in an almost identical image with Kate Middleton following their nuptials. Diana's ring inspired a huge sapphire rush at the time, and when her son proposed to Kate with the same ring nearly 30 years later, the sapphire piece inspired countless knockoffs.

• Why Princess Diana Mattered