Princess Diana at 60: Most memorable philanthropic moments from the Queen of Hearts

The late Princess of Wales was renowned for her charity work and raised awareness of a number of humanitarian issues

(David Hartley/Shutterstock)

The Princess of Wales has been remembered for many things in the 24 years since her death, from her idiosyncratic style to her dedication to her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

But when it comes to the most defining moments in Diana’s legacy, her charity work will surely comprise most of them.

Princess Diana became a prominent philanthropic force in her lifetime, using her stature to raise awareness for countless humanitarian issues, from the AIDS crisis to landmines.

In 1987, she famously shook hands with a patient who had AIDS at London Middlesex Hospital, challenging the false belief that the illness could be transmitted by touch.

Not only was she a patron to more than 100 charities over the course of her life, but she also acquired a reputation for dedicating hours of her time to engage with hospital patients and children who were unwell, earning her the nickname: “the people’s Princess”.

As the world reflects on Diana’s life and work on what would have been her 60th birthday, here are some of her most memorable philanthropic moments.

Princess Diana Visiting the AIDS Clinic, Broderip Ward, Middlesex Hospital, London in April 1987. She famously shook hands with an unidentified AIDS patient to tackle the stigma surrounding the disease. (Shutterstock)

Princess Diana meeting patients with AIDS at the Lighthouse Centre in London in 1989. (News UK Ltd/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana with a patient at the opening of the George Thomas Scanner Suite, The Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, Wales in 1990. (Shutterstock)

Princess Diana with children at the Glamorgan Mission in for the Deaf in Wales in 1991. (Shutterstock)

Diana presenting the British Telecom Swimming Development Badge Scheme at Queen Mother Sports Centre in London, 1989. (News UK Ltd/Shutterstock)

Diana pictured with Ian Clarke, a patient in hospital who had survived the Hillsborough football crowd disaster, Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, April 1989. (Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana visiting victims of the Purley train crash, Mayday Hospital, Croydon in 1989. (Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana visiting Freeman Hospital and Percy Hedley School, Newcastle in 1989. (News UK Ltd/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana greeting a child with a disability during her royal tour of the Gulf States in March 1989. (Shutterstock)

Princess Diana with patients wearing British Heart Foundation tops at Papworth Heart Hospital in June 1988. (Shutterstock)

Princess Diana pictured greeting a child in a hospital during her tour of Indonesia with Prince Charles in 1989. (Dave Levenson/Shutterstock)

The Princess made history in January of 1997, when she walked across a minefield in Huambo in central Angola. (Tim Rooke/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana at the opening of the Landmark Centre for AIDS patients, in London in 1989. (Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana speaking to a group of children during her official tour of Australia with Prince Charles in 1983. (Shutterstock)

Princess Diana was pictured cuddling a young girl at Imran Khan’s Cancer Hospital. (Mike Forster/Daily Mail/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana pictured visiting Help the Aged Charity in London in 1989. (Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana visiting Children's Hospice, Milton, Cambridgeshire in 1989. (Eddie Boldizsar/Shutterstock)

Diana visiting the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Yorkhill, Glasgow, Scotland in 1983 (Photonews Scotland/Shutterstock)

Princess Diana visiting a mother and baby at the Teeside Hospice Care Foundation in Middlesborough, 1988. (Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)