On this day: December 9

/on/december-9

1992 • neutral • 6 views

Princess Diana Announces Separation from Prince Charles

Exterior of Buckingham Palace with a small cluster of news photographers and parked media vans on a grey day; transport and period-appropriate vehicles visible to evoke early 1990s Britain.

On 9 December 1992, Buckingham Palace announced that Princess Diana and Prince Charles had separated after ten years of marriage, a development that marked a turning point for the modern British monarchy and sparked intense public and media attention.

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1981 • neutral • 5 views

France Abolishes the Death Penalty Nationwide

A 1980s French courtroom exterior and a crowd on the street outside, with French flags and period clothing; no identifiable faces.

On December 9, 1981, France formally abolished capital punishment, ending a long legal and political debate and replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment as the maximum sentence.

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