Everything
Royal
Diana,
Princess of Wales
died August 31, 1997
by Alicia Carroll
Diana was not only the most
famous lady of this or any other century, she was also a great
humanitarian. Diana did not strive for greatness or fame. Her
fame came because she married a Prince. Her greatness came because
everyone the world over recognized she was an extraordinary person.
A person who cared so much for so many. Her commitment and dedication
to her charities and causes is what she is remembered for. Her
face was known the world over for her caring ways. So much has
been written and reported about Princess Diana's life, we are
in danger of forgetting what she really stood for and cared about.
Diana was not a " in name only" patron of charities.
She cared deeply especially about those involving children. The
list of charities who owe their existence to the support of the
late Princess is endless.
There is a lesson to
be learned by the legacy Diana has left. She is remembered for
her charitable acts and caring ways, not for having married a
Prince.
BUT, where is the proper
fitting tribute? A statue? In a city virtually covered with statues
and monuments on every corner, there is nothing dedicated to the
late Princess Diana.
The following articles
were taken from UK newspapers
Sunday June 9, 03:41 PM
Inquest Into Diana's Death
An inquest into the death of Princess Diana is finally set to
go ahead, according to the Mail on Sunday. The inquest, which
will take place before the end of the year, could see Prince Charles
and immediate members of the Princess's family called to give
evidence. The move follows the retirement of the Royal Coroner.
Dr John Burton has opposed the need for a public hearing into
the deaths of Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.
It is feared the
case could be hijacked by those, including Dodi's father Mohamed
Al Fayed, the Harrods boss, who have put forward murder conspiracy
theories surrounding Diana's death in 1997.
The law requires
an inquest to be held into the death of anyone whose body is returned
to Britain after their death overseas. The Government is believed
to have been pushing for the case to be dealt with and the Palace
is understood to be resigned to a public hearing. In April, 2002,
France's highest court put a final end to its investigation into
Diana's death. The Court of Cassation upheld the dismissal by
the investigator of manslaughter charges against nine photographers
and a press motorcyclist who were in pursuit of the Mercedes as
it entered the Alma tunnel in Paris where it crashed.
The court dismissed
an appeal lodged by Al Fayed in 1999 after French Judge Herve
Stephan ruled that the Princess was killed because the car's driver
Henri Paul, an Al Fayed employee, was drunk and speeding. Bodyguard
Trevor Rees-Jones survived the crash
Thursday April 4, 07:00 PM
French draw line under Diana death probe
PARIS (Reuters) - France has drawn a line under a probe into Princess
Diana's death in a Paris car crash, with its highest court ruling
that paparazzi who pursued her car could not be tried for manslaughter.
The father of Diana's friend Dodi al-Fayed and family of the chauffeur
also killed in the crash had demanded that nine photographers
and a motorcyclist, who pursued the car, stand trial for charges
including manslaughter. The photographers chased the couple's
Mercedes as it left the Ritz Hotel in central Paris and took pictures
at the scene of the crash, after the car careered into a concrete
pillar in an underpass on August 31, 1997. However, the Cour de
Cassation rejected their appeal and supported the investigators'
decision in 1999 that the photographers had been too far away
from the speeding car for it to be considered that they caused
the crash. The initial inquiry into the Princess's death cleared
all 10 suspects after evidence showed that driver Henri Paul was
drunk at the time of the accident. The Cour de Cassation said
the photographers' behaviour was contrary only to the "moral
and ethical pursuit of their profession". The decision will
be a blow to Fayed's millionaire father Mohammed, who has often
blamed the death of Diana and his son on a secret service plot
to prevent the couple from marrying. However, eight of the photographers
who took pictures of both Diana and Dodi in the crumpled car after
the crash are still being investigated for invasion of privacy
following a complaint by Egyptian-born Fayed. The pictures were
impounded by police soon after the crash and have never been published.
Tuesday October
24, 3:14 PM
Diana's stunning
outfits go on display at Palace
The red dress worn
by Diana, Princess of Wales, for her last official daytime engagement
is
among a collection going on show at Kensington Palace. The Princess
chose the smart red knee-length sleeveless crepe shift dress with
neat gold double belt to open the Orthopedic Unit of Northwick
Park Hospital in north west London
on July 21, 1997. It was originally made for a state visit to
America in 1995 but the Princess only felt confident
enough to wear it two years later. "The Princess was in an
upbeat mood to cheer up patients and crowds, so went back to this
bright dress which had been put aside two years before,"
said collection curator Joanna Marschner. The clothes worn by
the late Princess will be displayed from Wednesday at the Princess's
former home with original sketches, patterns and embroidery specimens.
Entry to the collection is £8.50 for adults and £6.10
for children. It will be open from 10am to 4.30pm daily. The collection
includes 11 costumes created by Catherine Walker, who designed
outfits for the world's most photographed woman for 16 years from
casual day suits to sleek evening gowns for royal balls. The outfits,
many on show for the first time, include a black Clerici silk
low-backed evening gown, inspired by a picture frame design, which
she wore it at the Palace of Versailles in December 1994. Walker
wrote in her biography: "It was our first sexy dress and
predictably, it received considerable coverage. Pierre Cardin
commented 'This is the home of the Sun King of France: now we
have the Sun Princess of Versailles'." The exhibition, until
the end of March 2001, also displays a working wardrobe of outfits
which the Princess wore to charity events. They include a fine
wool, pink suit with mother of pearl buttons and a short hemline
which she wore just before her death. Walker's designs bring up
to date the Royal ceremonial dress collection at Kensington Palace
which tells the story of ceremony and style culminating in a dazzling
set of dresses belonging to the Queen, said a spokesman for the
Historic Royal Palaces.
Tuesday October
31, 3:14 PM
Fayed's Diana appeal
rejected
A French appeals
court has rejected a request by millionaire businessman Mohamed
al-Fayed to revive criminal charges against news photographers
over the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Mr al-Fayed's
son Dodi. A Paris judge last year accepted the investigating magistrates'
recommendations to blame limousine driver Henri Paul and clear
10 paparazzi. They had been charged with contributing to the deaths
of Diana, her companion Dodi al-Fayed and the driver by chasing
the car and failing to help the victims. Diana died when her limousine
smashed into a pillar in a central Paris underpass on 31 August
1997. Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed al-Fayed and Henri Paul's
family insist that the pursuing pack of photographers forced the
driver to speed through Paris and should therefore bear some of
the blame. Recommendations: The state prosecutor
recommended at the closed door appeals court hearing last month
that the appeal
should be rejected and that Henri Paul should bear the blame,
after being found to be drunk and under the influence of anti-depressants
at the time of the high-speed crash. But Tuesday's ruling by no
means spells the end to marathon legal proceedings over Princess
Diana's death. Mr al-Fayed may still appeal to France's supreme
court to have the original ruling annulled on a technicality.
He argues that the two magistrates who investigated the accident
committed a procedural error by both signing their final conclusion.
Normally only the chief investigator should have done so. He is
also suing the French Government for what he alleges was a failure
to investigate the crash properly. The Harrods boss is convinced
that "evil and racist forces" working through Britain's
security service killed Diana and Dodi. He also has said he will
file a lawsuit against US authorities to release documents he
says may prove the couple were murdered.
Tuesday August 29,
4:12 PM
Princes keep anniversary
of Diana's death low-key
The third anniversary
of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, on Thursday, is expected
to pass with only low-key remembrance. Prince William,
Diana's 18-year-old son, will be away from home on the latest
leg of his gap year between school and university. And Prince Harry, who is 16 in
two weeks' time, will be with his father, the Prince of Wales,
at Balmoral, the Queen's private estate in the Scottish Highlands.
It was at Balmoral, on August 31, 1997, that the Prince of Wales
told William and Harry about the Paris car crash which took their
mother's life. Charles and Harry were with the Queen,
the Duke of Edinburgh and the 100-year-old Queen Mother at Crathie
Church, Balmoral, last Sunday. Prayers were said although Diana
was not mentioned by name, as is traditional in the Church of
Scotland. The Princess's brother, Earl Spencer,
is expected to spend the anniversary quietly at Althorp, the Spencer
family's ancestral home where Diana was laid to rest on an island
in a lake. The Northamptonshire estate, which has been open to
the public during the summer, will close tomorrow until next year. At
Buckingham Palace, the state apartments will be open to the public
as usual during the annual summer opening. Elsewhere in London,
people are expected to lay flowers at the gates of Kensington
Palace, Diana's former home.
In Paris, more floral
tributes are expected to be left at the unofficial shrine above
the Pont d'Alma tunnel where the fatal crash happened. The
Princess will also be remembered in prayers at Westminster Abbey
where her funeral service took place.
People pay their
respects at the memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales, at Althorp
House in Northamptonshire.
Photos and floral
tributes to the late Princess Diana, on left on the gate of her
former London home, Kensington Palace.
Wednesday August
30, 6:05 PM
Three years after
the crash that killed Princess Diana, right, the father of herboyfriend,
Dodi Fayed, center, remains convinced that it was no accident.
Lawyers for Mohamed Al Fayed,left, announced Wednesday, Aug. 30,
2000, a lawsuit aimed at forcing the U.S. government to release
documents he says it has. Al Fayed says the documents may contain
information on the true cause of the deaths of his son, Diana
and their driver.
Thursday August
31, 3:50 PM
Diana mourners lay
flowers at palace gates
Admirers of Diana, Princess
of Wales are traveling from all over the country to pay their
respects at Kensington Palace on the third anniversary of her
death. Mourners hoping to keep her memory
alive have placed flowers and candles at the gates to the Princess's
former London home.
(The gates at Kensington
Palace three years ago.)
"Tony Blair promised
a memorial fountain. This still hasn't materialized although they
have memorials in Berlin, the US and Paris which is ridiculous
when she was our princess."
Thursday August
31, 1:41 PM
A man outside the
gates at London's Kensington Palace the former home of Diana,
Princess of Wales, paints his tribute as crowds gather on the
third anniversary of her death.
Thursday August
31, 12:42 PM
A man dressed in
the Union Flag t-shirt lays a bouquet as crowds gather at London's
Kensington Palace, the former home of Britain's Diana, Princess
of Wales.
Wednesday August
30, 6:00 PM
People pay respects
at the memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales, at Althorp House
in Northamptonshire, August 30, 2000
Wednesday August
30, 5:14 PM
Photos and floral
tributes to the Britain's late Princess Diana, on left on the
gate of her former London home,
Kensington Palace, Wednesday, August 30, 2000.
Thursday August
31, 3:48 PM
Hundreds of bouquets,
soft toys and photographs adorned Kensington Palace today as fans
of Princess Diana struggled to keep her memory alive on the third
anniversary of her death in a Paris car crash.
Over the past few
days a stream of visitors have been laying flowers and cards for
the "Princess of Hearts", police said. Offerings
included soft toys donated by Marsden Hospital "from children
she had helped bring back to life" and a bunch of roses bearing
the simple message: "Unforgettable".
Above is the unofficial
shrine to Princess Diana, "The Flame Of Liberty" in
Paris Despite a stream of fans and tourists,
the tide of national grief has retreated from the outpouring of
sorrow which swept the country after the "People's Princess"
died at the age of 36.
Comment on Diana was
buried deep inside the pages of the tabloid press, in stark contrast
to the newspaper banner headlines after her death. But
faithful fans have continued to flock to Althorp House, Diana's
childhood home and final resting place, which houses her toys,
school reports and the fairy tale wedding dress from her failed
marriage to Prince Charles.
Visitors to the Spencer
family estate in central England were estimated at more than 120,000
for the eight-week summer season, against 145,000 last year. "There's
still a great affection for Diana. People from all over the world
want to come and pay their last respects," a spokeswoman
for Althorp estate said.
For their part, the
royal family were "spending a private day remembering and
praying," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
Thursday, 31 August,
2000, 16:53 GMT 17:53 UK
Quiet remembrance
for Diana Mourners place tributes at her Kensington
Palace home Hundreds of mourners visited Kensington Palace, laden
with flowers, soft toys and photographs, to mark the third anniversary
of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. In Paris,
bouquets of fresh flowers, hand-written notes, poems and images
of Diana were laid at an unofficial memorial near the scene of
the crash. But Thursday's scenes were a far cry
from those of August 1997 which saw hundreds of thousands of people
flock to Kensington Palace and Althorp House, where Diana grew
up, to pay their respects.
Over the past eight
weeks the Althorp estate, which houses a museum dedicated to the
princess, has attracted 120,000 visitors. The estate
(Althorp), where Diana's body lies in grave on an island in the
middle of a lake, closed on Wednesday until next year. The
Royal Family and the Spencer family marked the anniversary in
private. Prince William, Diana's 18-year-old
son, is away from home on the latest leg of his gap year between
school and St Andrew's University in Scotland. His
younger brother Harry, who is 16 in two weeks' time, was with
his father, Prince Charles, at Balmoral, the Queen's private estate
in the Scottish Highlands throughout the day on Thursday. The
36-year old princess was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31
August 1997 with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul. A
fourth person in the car, bodyguard Trevor Rees Jones suffered
serious injury. Prayers were said at Westminster Abbey
where the princess's funeral was held a week after her death,
and mourners also paid tribute at the London department store,
Harrods, which is owned by Dodi Fayed's father, Mohamad al Fayed.
Tuesday, 18 July,
2000, 07:52 GMT 08:52 UK
Funds for Diana
fountain Memorial has backing of the public and the Royal Family
Funding for a £3m fountain in honor of Diana Princess of
Wales, is expected to be announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown
on Tuesday. The memorial is to be erected in one
of London's Royal Parks to commemorate the life of the Princess,
who died in a car crash in Paris nearly three years ago. The
proposal for a fountain was officially announced last September
and is preferred to a statue or any other form of memorial. Culture
secretary Chris Smith is expected to launch a national search
for the best design.
The cost is likely to
be partly offset by proceeds from the sale of official Diana commemorative
coins. It is thought the fountain could be
constructed within 18 months somewhere along the seven-mile Diana
Memorial Walk. The government has consulted the Royal
Family about the plans and the Royal Parks over a site for the
memorial. There have been increasing calls from
the public for a lasting memorial to the Princess. More
than 7,000 people paid their respects to Diana on the second anniversary
of her death last August. They signed a petition calling for a
permanent tribute to her.
A landscaped memorial
walk and a Pete Pan-themed Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington
Gardens, close to the Princess's former London home, were opened
last month.
Updated 9:24 PM
ET September 1, 2000
Princess Diana's
mother had to keep silent on death
LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The late Princess Diana's mother on
Saturday described for the first time how she was forced to keep
silent about her daughter's death until heads of state had been
informed. In her first public comments about the night Diana died
three years ago in a Paris car crash, Frances Shand Kydd told
Britain's Daily Express newspaper in an interview she knew of
Diana's death an hour before the news was broadcast. "Protocol
required that heads of state had to be informed before it was
made public," she said. "So I was left in an amazing,
stunning situation of having an hour to wait knowing she was dead
and being unable to ask a friend for help." "I was literally
in front of my television saying "Come on, come on. Tell
the world." Shand Kydd, 64, also described how she was besieged
by the media -- who collectively put in more than 1,000 interview
requests within three months of Diana's death. The
media have been accused of hounding Diana -- the world's most
photographed woman -- to her death on August 31, 1997 after the
car she was traveling in crashed in a Paris underpass while being
pursued by press photographers. Shand Kydd said she did not go
to Paris to bring her daughter's body home because she was not
asked to. She said in the weeks after Diana's
death she spent a lot of time alone at her home on a remote Scottish
island, despite her children's concern that she needed company.
"I needed the space," she said. Since Diana's
death she said she has dedicated her time to preserving her daughter's
memory. "My children and myself are all totally united in
preserving her memory and caring for William and Harry,"
she said, referring to Diana's sons Prince William and Prince
Harry, through her failed marriage to heir-to-the-throne Prince
Charles. "I've only cried in public once since Diana died.
I know it doesn't matter but I always felt if I started I might
never stop," she added.
Sunday September
3, 4:50 AM
Diana's mother slams
Al Fayed in attack on 'fantasy theorists'
The mother of Diana,
Princess of Wales has attacked Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed for
his conspiracy theories about her daughter's death. In an interview
with the Sunday Express newspaper, Frances Shand Kydd, speaking
for the first time about the Paris tunnel crash that killed her
daughter, slams "fantasy theorists" who continue to
claim Diana and Mr Al Fayed's son Dodi were murdered. The
paper says she has found "no shred of evidence" that
there is a conspiracy against the couple- a clear attack on Mr
Al Fayed. Mrs Shand Kydd's comments come after
Mr Al Fayed launched a legal battle in America last week to gain
access to secret CIA documents he claims will prove Diana and
Dodi did not die by accident. Mrs Shand Kydd, 63, tells the paper:
"There are those who got lost in the moral maze, abandoned
trust, and sold and told; those who have no story and have utterly
painful theories on her death. "I have trawled the depths
of my imagination alongside extensive factual knowledge and found
no shred of evidence to support the stories. "People who
have never met Diana were suddenly able to state authoritatively
what she would or wouldn't have wanted." She
commented: "There were times when I felt as though I was
having repetitive major emotional surgery without anaesthetic.
"I say this not out of anger, which I have never felt, nor
of pity, which I have never wanted, but so I can illustrate how
great and calming was the goodness of so many other people. They
took the trouble to write to me in their tens of thousands, sending
comfort and caring."
January 23, 2001
Paul Burrell, the former butler and close confidant of the late
Princess of Wales, was arrested on suspicion of theft last week
in a lightning dawn raid on his home Scotland Yard of investigating
the disappearance of Diana’s personal possessions. The man
whom Princess Diana had referred to “my rock” was led
out to a waiting police car in tears after officers had searched
his Cheste home. After being questioned by police, Paul, 42, who
worked for Diana for 10 years before her death in 1997. He was
released on bail while the police pursue further inquiries. He
was not charged. The arrest formed part of an ongoing police investigation
into the disappearance of some of Diana's possessions from her
Kensington palace apartment in the aftermath of her death. The
incident may come as a shock to many as the former butler is seen
to be loyal to Diana’s memory, saying after her death: “I’ll
never betray her trust.” He played a key role in her funeral
arrangements and true to his promise, has turned down all offers
to reveal details about life with the princess.
Diana's Life
In Pictures
Goodbye England's
Rose
May you ever grow in our hearts. You were the grace that placed
itself where lives were torn apart. You called out to our country,
and you whispered to those in pain. Now you belong to heaven,
and the stars spell out your name. And it seems to me you lived
your life like a candle in the wind; never fading with the sunset
when the rain set in. And your footsteps will always fall here,
along England's greenest hills; your candle's burned out long
before your legend ever will.
Loveliness we've lost; these empty days without your smile. This
torch we'll always carry for our nation's golden child. And even
though we try, the truth brings us to tears; all our words cannot
express the joy you brought us through the years. Goodbye England's
rose, from a country lost without your soul, who'll miss the wings
of your compassion more than you'll ever know.
Article from London
paper (January 20, 2002)
A trip to Kensington
Palace is a must for anyone visiting London.
Diana's gowns go
on permanent display
LONDON (Reuters) - A collection of Princess Diana's evening gowns,
including those she wore to state dinners and film premieres,
has gone on permanent display at Kensington Palace. The collection
of 14 gowns has been shown in a number of temporary exhibitions
worldwide, but will now occupy a permanent space in the Royal
Ceremonial Dress Collection at the palace. "It adds to the
royal dress collection and brings it up to date," a spokeswoman
for the palace told Reuters on Friday. Highlights of the collection
include a heavily embroidered and sequined pink silk dress with
a matching bolero jacket which Diana wore during a 1992 visit
to India. Also featured is the "Travolta dress", which
the princess wore to a 1985 dinner at the White House where she
danced with U.S. film star John Travolta. The dresses, bought
at auction in 1997 by an American woman, raised more than $1 million
(695 million pounds) for charity during a recent three-year world
tour, the collection owner's spokeswoman said. "She feels
that is very appropriate for them to be at Kensington now as that
was the princess's home." The palace's royal dress collection
displays elaborate ceremonial outfits dating back to the 18th
century including Queen Victoria's wedding dress and coronation
robes.
Earl Spencer's Eulogy to Princess
Diana
Princess Diana's Will
Kensington Palace
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