The People’s Princess: Diana’s Life and Legacy

This advanced C1 reading lesson focuses on Princess Diana’s life, influence, and enduring legacy through a variety of interactive learning activities. Students will practice structured discussion techniques, complete targeted gap-fill exercises, and engage in analytical thinking about important themes like the tension between royal tradition and personal authenticity.

Opening Discussion Activity

The lesson begins with students sharing their thoughts and knowledge about Princess Diana. This warm-up activity helps activate their background knowledge about the British Royal Family, Princess Diana’s public role, and her cultural significance. Students can discuss what they already know about her life, her charitable work, or her impact on modern royal traditions.

Video Analysis

Students watch an informative video titled “Princess Diana – Princess of Wales” that provides an overview of her life, her role in the Royal Family, and her lasting influence on British society. After watching, students use provided discussion phrases to talk about the main messages and themes from the video. This structured approach helps them practice expressing complex ideas clearly while building their academic discussion skills.

Reading Section

The core of the lesson involves reading three different articles that explore various aspects of Princess Diana’s life and public image:

• “Princess Diana” – a biographical overview
• “The 30 Most Iconic Photographs of Princess Diana” – examining her public image and media representation
• “Princess Diana Had to Be Stopped from Wearing More and More Risqué Looks in Her Final Years” – exploring her evolving personal style and independence

Each article includes specific follow-up activities designed to develop vocabulary knowledge, strengthen reading comprehension skills, and encourage thoughtful discussion. Students work on tasks like identifying main themes using helpful phrase structures and completing context-based gap-fill exercises. These activities help them practice extracting key information from complex texts while expanding their understanding of formal and informal English styles.

Concluding Analysis and Discussion

The lesson concludes with students reading and analyzing a final passage about Princess Diana’s overall life and lasting legacy. This closing activity encourages them to synthesize information from all the lesson materials and think critically about her influence on modern British culture, royal traditions, and public expectations of public figures. Students can discuss questions about authenticity, public versus private life, and how Princess Diana changed the way people think about the Royal Family.

This C1 reading lesson uses Princess Diana’s compelling life story to help advanced students practice sophisticated reading skills while engaging with themes of tradition, change, and public identity. The combination of video content, multiple reading texts, and structured discussions provides students with varied practice opportunities while exploring an important figure in recent British history.