Princess Diana turns 21

LONDON -- Princess Diana -- 18 months ago a shy nursery school teacher, now princess, wife to one future king and mother to another - Thursday celebrated her 21st birthday quietly at home.

Clutching blue balloons and wearing brightly colored plastic raincoats to ward off the downpour, 30 4 year old's from local play groups sang 'Happy Birthday' and presented gifts of flowers and drawings at the royal couple's London residence, Kensington Palace.

The princess remained inside.

Thousands of birthday cards and telegrams flooded into the palace from all over the world but Prince Charles's gift to the princess remained a closely guarded secret.

Buckingham Palace said Diana, who married Prince Charles last July 29 and gave birth to Prince William of Wales just 10 days ago, was having a private birthday party in the evening.

'The birth of the baby meant little time for planning,' said a palace spokesman, noting only 'close friends' would be invited to the celebration.

For Charles, 33, the round of official duties continued despite his wife's birthday with a visit to wounded Falklands servicemen at a military hospital in a London suburb. But a Buckingham Palace spokesman said he would spend the rest of the day at home.

While Charles visited the hospital, Diana received several visitors, including her father Earl Spencer, step-mother Raine, sisters Lady Jane and Lady Sarah and three friends she shared an apartment with before her marriage.

All London newspapers carried an official birthday picture of the princess, dressed in a high-necked antique lace blouse and wearing diamond earrings, on their front pages. The Daily Mail reproduced the head and shoulders color portrait, taken by Lord Snowdon in April when the princess was seven months pregnant.

Seventeen countries in the Commonwealth of Nations celebrated Diana's 21st birthday by issuing 68 new postage stamps in her honor.

A stamp with her picture on it was also issued in the Falkland Islands, which before the war with Argentina was best known among stamp collectors for its rare postage markings.

Diana had predicted her baby would be born July 1, but Prince William of Wales was born June 21.

The Sun newspaper said Charles 'spends hours just sitting and looking at his son' and the baby is 'putting on weight fast.'

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Product Description:
GOLD foil souvenir (sheet of 4) for Princess Diana's 21st birthday.
This is a commemorative stamp souvenir sheet from the Republic of Chad marking the 21st birthday of Lady Diana on 1 July 1982.

What is a gold foil souvenir sheet?

A thin metallic foil layer (aluminum with a gold‑colored coating) is heat‑stamped onto the paper.

The mirror‑like surface looks very shiny and is slightly debossed/raised where the foil is pressed.

The “gold” is imitation gold (metalized plastic or base metal), not real gold leaf.