On the 31st of August 1997, Diana, titled Princess of Wales, died after a car crash in Paris. The accident occurred after Diana left the Ritz Hotel in the French capital with her companion, Dodi Al Fayed, the son of the owner of Harrods, Mohammed Al Fayed. Dodi Al Fayed and the vehicle’s driver, Henri Paul, were also killed in the collision: the only survivor was Diana’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones.
I was in London at the time staying with a friend. I heard the news on Radio 4 at about 4.00 a.m. We had both been heartily sick of hearing about Diana and Dodi and I recall saying to my friend when she got up that morning that we would hear ‘no more of Di-Di and Do-Do since they were both Dead-Dead’. I own to being pretty appalled at what I said – but I was, of course, quite wrong.
I was stunned by the public response to the death of a women who was, at the time, being pilloried in the press for her behaviour. One paper had changed its stance on the front page in the bid to follow public opinion (or was it to promote public opinion?) but it failed to remove a critical commentary on a later page. By the third day after the event I was beginning to wonder whether Britain had gone completely mad – or had I? While the death of anyone in such circumstances is tragic – I failed to see then and still fail to see today why her death provoked such a reaction.
Boadicea's Chariot 
You and me both, Boa – I was never a fan.
I recall hearing the first accounts of the accident as I drifted off to sleep with the radio playing. I think it was shocking because she had become a part of so many people’s lives in an abstract sort of way. Whether one loved her or loathed her she was ever-present. I confess that I went to gawp, like millions of others, at the funeral cortège though I was more interested in seeing the crowd reaction than in paying my respects.
By the way Bearsy and Boadicea, my nephew has recently gone to live in Brisbane and has just announced his engagement to a Queensland lass. Big wedding planned for December. I don’t think I will make it, but one never knows.
I walked down to St James Palace. It really was a surreal experience, so many people and so many flowers. I always felt sorry for her, she deserved better than the prat she married.
Britain went completely mad, not you. Diana’s life and legacy could easily be manipulated into making her a post-modern “tragic heroine”. The beautiful, though somewhat naive woman pressured into marrying a nasty, dark prince who mistreated her. She was, of course, not nearly as naive or innocent as was portrayed after her death. There is usually an outpouring of support when a prominent figure dies — even if they were less than popular at the time of their death. The media, however, spun the story beyond any real sense. The shame is that it seems as if it marked a critical moment in British history — the moment when the traditional sensibility that saw a nation build an empire and survive two brutal world wars before moving past it all in relatively good shape was abandoned for an American-style hysteria.
There was a huge reaction here, she was the peoples princess, I loved her, my family loved her, our friends loved her, everybody loved her.
I was sad, lots of people were sad, I was awake watching Sky News when the news broke, I remember how quickly the whole crew donned funeral outfits, the presenters, reporters, interviewees all suddenly dressed in black.
What is even sadder is that pathetic remembrance water feature in Hyde Park that the trust spent millions on, what a disgrace, they should have erected a statue of her.
13 years, that’s a heck of a long time, seems like just the other day we saw her with the landmine victims in Angola!
How can you possibly love someone you do not know?
Sorry, absolutely pathetic!
BO with you all the way. In retrospect the beginning of the end for the UK, a dreadful distasteful display by citizens who should have known better.
I wonder what the reckoning would be had she left a half muslim step brother to the future King of the UK?
Not quite the same these days I’ll be bound! Perhaps Harrods would have refurbished the throne!
Retrospectively perhaps it was better it ended as it did for the country as a whole.
Christina, you do a very good job of convincing us that there are people you hate whom you cannot possibly know.
Oh dear, royalty is such a comfort, innit?
There was somrhing odd about this event. Not the accident itself, but the stage-managed tweaking of the emotions of the unwashed X-Factor generation.
OZ
Interestingly I know people who met her and they say she was a remarkable woman in many ways: probably a case someone in the wrong role.
She had a certain ability to talk to anyone with compassion, and understanding, and without being autocratic and superior, despite her position in life. She visited the injured in hospital and really made a difference to many people.
I admired her in that respect.
Not to mention ‘…something odd…’
OZ
sipu, you mistake ‘hate’ for total indifference.
Rather have their room than their company.
Much rather see some countries empty except for the wildlife!
Boadicea, I completely agree with you. The country lost its reason. I think OZ is right in talking about the stage-managed emotions. This was probably the forerunner of Big Brother, the X Factor and other reality shows. It really was most undignified.
Thankfully many people have now realised what a damaged personality Diana was and can be more objective. I felt sorry for the girl, not very intelligent and unable to cope except by throwing herself downstairs, but very manipulative A friend who lives in the neighbourhood of Highgrove and Princess Anne’s home told me that both Charles and Anne regularly visit local hospitals, but don’t want any publicity.
True the country went mad. One minute she was the whore of Babylon then after her death she was the Virgin Mary.
The country went nuts but it sold papers.
The idiotic knock on effect now is the plethora of instant shrines that spring up whenever someone dies in a road accident, the ones that annoy me the most are those thieving scum bags that knick a car, crash and die and everyone says “they were good kids”, no there weren’t they were scum.
On a final note I still think Diana’s crash was very fishy and the establishment was involved.
Some here have echoed my feelings. As Sheona has pointed out, most of the Royals do a lot of ‘charity work’ – silently and unsung. I found the ‘look-at-me’ attitude quite distasteful. I was annoyed that she insisted on being called ‘Princess of Wales’ – that title has always been reserved for the wife of the Prince of Wales – always the first son of the reigning monarch. I dislike established traditions being overturned on a whim. But most of all, I could not stand the way she looked coyly from under her eye-lashes – I really have no time for women who don’t look people straight in the face … Yuck!
‘Some have greatness thrust upon them’ – but Diana seemed to enjoy the imposition, in spades. Who can separate the hype from the reality when it comes to these unelected, unapologetic public ‘servants’? Now the Great Unwashed have the X Factor, maybe the nation should dispense with the services of these hereditary fools.
According to today’s DT, Tony Blair claims in his book that Diana was a manipulator like himself. I gather quite a lot of gossip is in his book. As Toby Young says, one would have expected some more statesmanlike material.
Janus, I can think of a lot of things I would dispense with before the Royal Family. If nothing else, just look at the alternatives! At least HM does not denigrate the country in public as Obama is doing.
Sheona, I’m afraid ERII is the last of the ‘respectable’ monarchs. If we have to have hereditary public offices, let’s stick to beefeaters or football managers.
She lives on:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1307779/Diana-lingerie-outrage-Chinese-company-depict-princess-bra-knickers.html