Britain remembers Diana 10 years on

Herald Sun ^ | 30 August 2007 | Katherine Haddon

[Aussie Dasher]

BRITAIN marks the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death tomorrow with a royal memorial service and a series of other tributes to the the "people's princess".

Diana's sons Princes William and Harry, her ex-husband Prince Charles and the Queen, will mark the tragedy that many say changed Britain with a solemn service in central London.

Her sons, who were aged just 15 and 12 when their mother died aged 36 in a car crash in Paris, are now officers in the British army. They were to give personally-selected readings during the service, being held at their regimental chapel.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Anglican church, will deliver two prayers written for the occasion.

Guests include Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ex-premier Tony Blair, who famously described her as the "people's princess", and pop singer Elton John, who sang an adapted version of Candle In The Wind at Diana's funeral which brought more than one million people onto the streets of London a decade ago.

Other famous names have not made it on to the final guest-list, though.

Charles's second wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall - who Diana dubbed "the rottweiler'' and blamed for her divorce from the heir to the throne in 1996 - will not be attending.

Although royal officials initially insisted she would be there, Camilla announced a U-turn on Sunday, saying she did not want to "divert attention from the purpose of the occasion,'' reportedly on advice from the Queen.

Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of Diana's lover Dodi Fayed

[Verloona Ti]

Last month, I read in a new woman’s magazine an excerpt from a recent biography that stated Princess Diana was planning to “revert” to islam to marry a moslem BF (not the one killed with her; an earlier BF , a doctor IIRC). However, his family refused to consider her a “worthy” bride, so the BF dumped her in favor of a moslem fiancee chosen for him. If this is true, I cannot begin to imagine the damage that would have been caused had Princess Diana NOT been rejected, and she’d gone through with the “reversion” . The hysteria at her death-certainly NOT just in the UK-suggests to me she would have inspired a wave of fashionable “reversions”.

[sinanju]

“It was the horrific maudlin demonstration at Diana’s funeral that drove home to me the fact that the England of a “stiff upper lip” was long gone....”
______________________________________________________________

That turned my stomach. I remember the unfavorable comparisons many conservative writers made to the dignified funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965. I see one more teddy bear at a funeral and I swear I’m gonna...

[mrsmel]

I loved Helen Mirren in “White Nights” with Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, and Isabella Rossellini.

[mrsmel]

I never could understand what was so noble and self-sacrificing about a woman dressed in designer clothing jetting around blessing the little people with her smile. Until Charles went really nutty (or showed his true nuttiness), I had a bit of sympathy for him preferring to be with an earthy, bawdy Englishwoman rather than a dressed-up insecure neurotic. Princess Alexandra was the last one who could pull off that role, with dignity.

I’ve always found it interesting that one of Camilla’s ancestors was Alice Keppel, last best mistress of Edward the V!!.

[bunches]

“never could understand what was so noble and self-sacrificing about a woman dressed in designer clothing jetting around blessing the little people with her smile. Until Charles went really nutty (or showed his true nuttiness), I had a bit of sympathy for him preferring to be with an earthy, bawdy Englishwoman rather than a dressed-up insecure neurotic. Princess Alexandra was the last one who could pull off that role, with dignity.”

I agree about the Queen and her riches and what she does. She is basically a figurehead and she HAS comported herself with dignity. Her kids...oh well...Charles, should have been allowed to marry whoever he wanted but he waited to long to ask Camilla and she got married while he was away. You read about Charles’childhood and he was not nurtured enough and he seems to have been lonely and insecure covered with a coating of privileged and spoiled. Oh fun!

Fergie is/was a trip but she is cute, Andrew is handsome but I don’t really know what he does, same with Edward. Princess Anne seems hard-working but kinda scary. Prince Philip...echhhhh!

Diana was a breath of fresh air in that she broke away from the waving British muppets and dared to make mistakes and also to reach out to those less fortunate.

[mrsmel]

I was talking about Diana, regarding the designer clothing and "noble" smiles. I just never cared for her. I like the Queen, as far as present royalty goes. She has indeed kept her dignity, and that couldn't be easy when she's surrounded by flakes and neurotics, and publicity hounds. If you're going to have a monarchy, even just as a figurehead, at least let it keep its mystique, or what's the point? If they're just everyday people, no different from the common herd, what are they getting paid for? That's how I feel about it, anyhow :)

[fowb]

I’m sick of hearing about both Diana and Katrina. Everyone just needs to get over it and move on. Unfortunately we’ll probably have to suffer through repeats of this crap for the next 50 years.

[uksupport1]

I don’t think that Diana’s funeral marked the end of the ‘stiff upper lip’. Living in the UK, I think that it was a one off event. Diana did a lot of good work when she was alive and her ‘common touch’ transcended the class barrier in the UK. Given her relative youth and young sons all of these factors combined to create much sympathy and sadness in the UK at the time.

Contrary to some rather disrespectful comments on this thread, I hope that Diana rests in peace and my thoughts go out to her sons and family. As other people have noted, Mother Teresa’s death was sadly much overlooked at the time. However, this was hardly Diana’s fault.

I must say that it is slightly odd that the reaction of the UK public to this unique tragedy has been described as soppy on, of all things, an Amercan forum. Don’t get me wrong. I love the US and the US people. But gargantuan levels of schmaltz have been produced within the US. Just look at US TV: Women (and men) constantly blubbing on the Oprah Winfrey Show, people told to ‘get in touch with their feelings’ on Dr. Phil. US people have always been far more comfortable about being ‘emotional’ that UK citizens. That is by no means a criticism, just an observation. This US trait is far more preferable in some situations. Commuting in London in dead silence (where talking to strangers is seen as strictly taboo) is hardly much fun.

[Exton1]

Let me get this right. The remember Diane, who really never did anything but have children, BUT, WWII and Winston Churchill is irrelevant.

[uksupport1]

Trust me mate, having gone through the UK school system: It was obsessed with WW2. Churchill was never really mentioned because everyone did (and still generally do) know all about him. If changes have been made they will just have been to refresh the curriculum. Please don’t believe sensationalist stories in the UK tabloids on these issues.

[monkeycard]

"..that UK citizens subjects"

There, that's fixed.

[toddlintown]

Z-z-z-z-z...

[uksupport1]

Fair enough mate :-) Still, I don’t mind being a ‘subject’ to one of the oldest functioning (symbolic) monarchies in the world. (Lets not forget how many Americans go to the UK specifically because of the monarchy/Diana.)

[Bender2]

Well, the Queen and I... had a frank and intimate discussion on that just last night.

She is feeling much better... about the whole thing.