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Prince Charles and Princess Diana stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, following their wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral, June 29, 1981. Wednesday would have been Diana's 54th birthday. Reuters

Wednesday would have been Princess Diana's 54th birthday, and while she's now gone, she's certainly not forgotten. The late first wife of Charles, the Prince of Wales, is widely loved in the United Kingdom to this day. Diana's legacy lives on years after her death, especially now that the infant Princess Charlotte bears her name.

Princess Diana was born Diana Frances Spencer on July 1, 1961 near Sandringham, Norfolk. She became known as Lady Diana when her father, Edward John Spencer, became the eighth Earl Spencer in 1975. She met Prince Charles two years later. More than 750 million people would later watch their wedding.

As princess, Diana threw herself into charity work. She visited orphanages, toured hospitals and raised AIDS awareness. In 1997, she traveled to Angola to walk through its partially cleared minefields and promote her anti-land mine campaign. "She was really involved with things," Red Cross technician Carl Hefti told CNN at the time. "Sometimes, she was nearly crying. It was beautiful."

Diana, who eventually divorced Charles, died in a car accident in Paris' Pont de l'Alma road tunnel. Her driver lost control of the car, and she died hours later at a local hospital.

On her would-be 54th birthday, take a moment to remember Princess Diana. Here are a few of her most famous quotes, compiled from Goodreads and Wikiquote:

  1. "If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love."

  2. "Family is the most important thing in the world."

  3. "I like to be a free spirit. Some don't like that, but that's the way I am."

  4. "Ever yone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves."

  5. “Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can."

  6. "I don't go by the rule book... I lead from the heart, not the head."

  7. "Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back."

  8. "Two things stand like stone: kindness in another's trouble, courage in your own."

  9. "Whoever is in distress can call on me. I will come running wherever they are."

  10. "Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you."