Cancer is often associated with maternal instinct, as its energy is inherently caring and comforting. And Princess Diana fully embodied her nurturing side throughout her life, especially as a mother. She eschewed the royal customs around parenting and took a much more involved and hand-on approach when raising her own children — despite the fact that she was, in some cases, breaking long-held traditions.

For example, according to royal expert Christopher Warwick in Harper's Bazaar, when Diana’s son William was nine months old, she broke the royal trend of separation by bringing both him and his nanny on a six-week tour to Australia and New Zealand. She also strayed from royal tradition by breastfeeding her own children instead of using a wet nurse and broke protocol by hugging her children in public. As a Cancer, being able to take care of people and show affection is deeply important, so it makes sense that Diana would buck certain practices in favor of being able to fully express her love for her children.

Cancers are deeply sentimental people, so it’s no surprise that Diana went to lengths to ensure her wedding day look was as meaningful as it was fashionable. The shoes she wore on her wedding day were custom-made by celebrity cobbler Clive Shilton. By Diana’s request, Shilton was reportedly asked to engrave the initials “C” and “D” into her custom shoes — letters which stood, of course, for Charles and Diana. This romantic and private gesture exemplifies Diana’s sensitive Cancer energy and how much her feelings meant to her.

In the infamous 1995 BBC interview with Martin Bashir, Princess Diana spoke freely about her struggles with postpartum depression, self-harm, and other mental health issues. “Maybe I was the first person in this family who ever had a depression or was ever openly tearful,” Diana said of her mental health struggles and the royal family’s response. “And obviously that was daunting, because if you've never seen it before, how do you support it?” For Cancers like Diana, this kind of vulnerability and honesty is a way of life. This water sign’s energy is always in touch with feelings and knows it’s important to build connection with other people through the power of emotions.

Princess Diana wore Cancer zodiac traits like empathy, compassion, and kindness on her sleeve — in fact, these qualities were an integral part of image. Up until her death in 1997, Princess Diana was an advocate for human rights and spent her time working for different charities around the globe. For example, people have heralded her as being an instrumental force in changing public attitudes toward HIV and AIDS throughout her years of advocacy and role in opening of the U.K.’s first HIV/AIDS unit in 1987.

She also famously walked through a minefield in Angola to raise awareness around HALO Trust, an organization focused on clearing mines leftover from Angolan Civil War. In another memorable moment, Diana auctioned off her clothes to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and the AIDS Crisis Trust. Her lifelong philanthropic work put her empathic Cancer side on display for the world to see.

Like a true Cancer, Princess Diana’s nurturing nature spanned beyond the love and protection she showed her own children. Before marrying Prince Charles, Diana worked as a kindergarten teacher (which sounds like a wonderful job for a gentle and creative Cancer). And as a royal, Diana devoted loads of energy to doing charity work with children. She regularly visited children’s hospitals, and in 1992, she became the Patron of Centrepoint, an organization fighting youth homelessness. In 1997, she visited the Huambo Province of central Angola with the British Red Cross and met with children who had survived landmine explosions. Diana said it best in a quote reported by People: “A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” And given Cancer’s reputation for holding space and caring for others, this couldn’t feel more accurate.

It’s easy to peg Cancers as being overly sensitive and emotional — but don’t confuse their open-heartedness with weakness. Cancers are cardinal signs, making them one of the powerful initiators of the zodiac. Princess Diana exemplified this kind of gentle strength throughout her career, as she always bravely stood up for herself and spoke out about the royal family, even in the midst of public scandals and scrutiny.

“I have been battered, bruised, and abused mentally by a system for fifteen years now, but I feel no resentment, I carry no hatred,” Diana said, as reported by Phil Dampier in Diana: I'm Going To Be Me: The People's Princess Revealed in Her Words. “I am weary of the battles, but I will never surrender.” Diana’s soft-spoken Cancerian fortitude showed the world that you can be vulnerable while still standing your ground.

Cancers are represented by the symbol of the crab, whose tough outer shell safeguards its sensitive innards. This helps to illustrate why vulnerable Cancers are so protective over their and others’ precious inner feelings. “If you find someone you love in life, you must hang onto it, and look after it,” Princess Diana said in an interview with BBC, as reported by TODAY. “And if you were lucky enough to find someone who loved you, then you must protect it." Diana’s tenacity about protecting her emotions and lovingly guarding it lines up with Cancer’s zodiac traits, such as being sentimental and cautious.

Thanks to her charity work and public displays of honesty, Princess Diana became known as the ‘People’s Princess’ — a nickname used to describe her posthumously by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to CNN. While she may have been stripped of the title of “Her Royal Highness” after divorcing Prince Charles, this lovingly unofficial title aligns even more significantly with her Cancer sun.

In astrology, the sign of Cancer is associated with the fourth house of zodiac, which represents our homes, families, and emotional lives. It’s considered the most private part of a birth chart, as it sits opposite to the tenth house of public image. This illustrates the way Diana’s raw vulnerability captivated people’s hearts and hit them in a close-to-home way, despite the fact that she didn’t appeal to the traditional public-facing customs of the royal family. In certain branches of astrology, the moon (Cancer’s ruling planet) represents the people or the general population — so the “People’s Princess” is an uncannily fitting title for this Cancer-born royal.