00:00Before she wore the crown, she was scrubbing toilets, doing laundry, and earning just $5
00:05an hour. This is the secret, surprisingly normal life of Lady Diana Spencer before she became a
00:11princess. In the spring of 1980, an American businesswoman named Mary Robertson was living
00:17in London, desperately looking for a part-time nanny to watch her toddler, Patrick. She called
00:23a local agency, and soon, an incredibly shy, polite 18-year-old girl showed up at her door.
00:29The girl was wonderful. She washed the dishes, picked up toys, did the laundry, and charged
00:35just $5 an hour. But one afternoon, Mary was cleaning up and found a stray bank slip under
00:41the sofa. She glanced at the name on the deposit slip. It didn't say Diana. It read, Lady Diana
00:48Spencer. And the deposit was to Cootes and Company, the exclusive bank of the British royal family.
00:54Mary confronted her nanny, realizing this quiet teenager was actually an aristocrat from one
01:00of England's oldest noble families. Diana just blushed, smiled, and went right back to folding
01:06the laundry. To understand why a lady of the realm was scrubbing floors for $5 an hour, we have to
01:12look
01:12at the world she grew up in. Diana was born into immense privilege, growing up on the Royal
01:17Sandringham Estate. But academically, she struggled. She failed her O-level exams twice, essentially
01:24leaving school at 16 without a high school diploma. She was sent to a prestigious Swiss finishing
01:30school, but she hated speaking French, skipped classes to go skiing, and left after just one term.
01:36In the aristocratic circles of 1970s Britain, young women of Diana's class weren't expected to build
01:42corporate careers. They were expected to marry well. But Diana wanted independence. She wanted the city
01:50does so, when she turned 18, her mother bought her a flat in London's Earl's Court. Diana moved in with
01:56three roommates, and for the first time in her life, she was just a normal teenager trying to pay her
02:01own
02:01way. Diana's true passion was movement. She loved music, she was an accomplished pianist, and her absolute
02:09dream was to dance. She quickly found work as a youth dance instructor. For a while, she was in
02:15her element, teaching children how to move, leap, and express themselves. But then, tragedy struck.
02:22A bad skiing accident left her with a severe injury, forcing her to miss three months of work. She lost
02:29the job, and with it, her dream of dance instruction. But Diana wasn't one to sit idle. To make ends
02:36meet,
02:36she took on whatever work she could find. She signed up to work as a hostess at high society cocktail
02:42parties, serving drinks to the elite. Even more surprising, she worked as an under-the-radar cleaning
02:49lady. She swept, dusted, and scrubbed the apartments of her older sister, Sarah, and several of her
02:56wealthy friends. To her friends, she was just Dee, the sweet, energetic girl who didn't mind getting her
03:02hands dirty. Eventually, Diana found the place where she truly belonged, the Young England
03:08Kindergarten in Pimlico. Here, she worked as a preschool assistant. She was paid a modest wage
03:14to paint with the children, read them stories, and tie their shoelaces. The school had an old-school
03:20approach to education, plenty of outdoor play, music, and simple joy. It was during this time that a certain
03:27prince Charles began courting her. Suddenly, the quiet nursery school in Pimlico was surrounded by
03:33photographers. Paparazzi camped outside, desperate for a glimpse of the shy teenager who was capturing
03:40the heart of the heir to the throne. In September of 1980, photographers asked Diana to pose for a
03:46picture. She agreed, holding a toddler on each hip. She didn't realize the sun was behind her,
03:52making her skirt completely translucent. It became one of the most famous photos in history the moment
03:59the world truly met Lady Diana. On February 24, 1981, Diana's engagement to Prince Charles became
04:07official. With a heavy heart, she had to hand in her notice at the nursery school and say goodbye to
04:13the Robertsons. Almost overnight, her life of shared flats, $5 an hour nanny jobs, and teaching children
04:19to dance was replaced by the cold, lonely corridors of Buckingham Palace. But those years of menial work
04:26weren't a waste. They defined her. Unlike the royals who came before her, Diana knew what it was like to
04:32wash dishes, to work for a living, and to connect with everyday people. It was this brief, normal life
04:38in London that gave her the empathy and down-to-earth warmth that would eventually make her the people's
04:43princess. She remained in touch with Mary Robertson, the American mother she nannied for,
04:49for 16 years, sending her cards and letters until her tragic death in 1997. Mary would later attend
04:56Diana's funeral, calling it the saddest hour of her life. Diana Spencer was born an aristocrat and
05:02died a global icon. But for a few fleeting, beautiful years in London, she was just a teenager with a
05:08dream,
05:09a feather duster, and a heart full of love for the children she cared for. Before she wore the crown,
05:14she was scrubbing toilets, doing laundry, and earning just $5 an hour. This is the secret,
05:21surprisingly normal life of Lady Diana Spencer before she became a princess.
