 Orthogonal diagonalization of a real symmetric matrix

A real symmetric matrix has real eigenvalues, orthogonal eigenspaces for distinct eigenvalues, and an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors. From diagonalizability, apply the Gram-Schmidt process within each eigenspace; all its linear combinations stay in that eigenspace. This gives $A=Q\Lambda Q^T$ with an orthogonal matrix $Q$ and real diagonal $\Lambda$.