LONDON (AP) - Above all, there was shock. That’s the word people use over and over again when they remember Princess Diana’s death in a Paris car crash 25 years ago today.

The woman the world watched grow from a shy teenage nursery school teacher into a glamorous celebrity who comforted AIDS patients and campaigned for land mine removal couldn’t be dead at the age of 36, could she?

“I think we need to remind ourselves that she was probably the best known woman in the English-speaking world, aside from perhaps Queen Elizabeth II herself,’’ said historian Ed Owens. “And, given this massive celebrity persona that she had developed, to have that extinguished overnight, for her to die in such tragic circumstances, at such a young age, I think really came as a massive shock to many people.”

It was that disbelief that cemented Diana’s legacy as the woman who brought lasting change to Britain’s royal family, helping bridge the gap between centuries of tradition and a new, multicultural nation in the internet age.

First, there was the outpouring of grief from the public who streamed to the princess’ home at Kensington Palace to mourn the loss of a woman most had never met. That alone forced the royals to recognize that Diana’s common touch had connected with people in ways that hadn’t yet occurred to the House of Windsor.

Those lessons have since inspired other royals, including Diana’s sons, Princes William and Harry, to be more informal and approachable.

A princess is born

It wasn’t obvious Diana would be a royal rebel when she married Prince Charles.

A member of the aristocratic Spencer family, Diana was known for flouncy bows, sensible skirts and a boyish blond bob when she started dating the future king. After leaving school at 16, she spent time at a finishing school in the Swiss Alps and worked as a nanny and preschool teacher while living in London. But she blossomed, becoming an international style icon the moment she walked down the aisle of St. Paul’s Cathedral shrouded in lace and followed by a 25-foot train on July 29, 1981.

From that moment on, reporters and photographers followed Diana wherever she went. While Diana hated the intrusion, she quickly learned the media was also a tool she could use to bring attention to a cause and to change public perceptions.

Her marriage disintegrated, with Diana blaming Charles’ continuing liaison with longtime mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. The princess also struggled with bulimia and acknowledged suicide attempts.

“When I started my public life, 12 years ago, I understood the media might be interested in what I did,” Diana said in 1993. “But I was not aware of how overwhelming that attention would become. Nor the extent to which it would affect both my public duties and my personal life, in a manner that’s been hard to bear.”

In the end, it contributed to her death.

On Aug. 30, 1997, a group of paparazzi camped outside the Hotel Ritz in Paris in hopes of getting shots of Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed pursued their car to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, where their driver lost control and crashed.

Diana died Aug. 31, 1997.