25 years since her passing Princess Diana’s memory continues to shape the royals
The palace didn’t understand her, but the public did, and here we are a quarter of a century later, still remembering her, as her legacy continues to shape the royal family.
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Even in death, Diana proved the palace wrong. Now, 25 years after the Princess of Wales passed away, she’s still in the headlines.
August 31 marks the silver anniversary of Diana’s untimely death aged 36 in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997. And while the “men in grey suits”, as she called the palace courtiers, never understood her, or her powerful relationship with the public, her memory is as enduring as it ever was when she lived.
After the 10th anniversary of her death, one senior palace aide declared, “hopefully we can draw a line under it all now,” to UK Daily Express royal reporter Richard Palmer. How wrong could they be – Diana’s memory will last longer, in fact, than that of many other members of the royal family. Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, for example, also reached the 20th anniversaries of their deaths earlier this year, but you would have been forgiven for missing those.
Diana dubbed herself, “the queen of people’s hearts”, in that controversial Panorama interview with Martin Bashir in 1995 and at the time, this title was met with a mix of incredulity and derision, but two years later, on her death, British PM Tony Blair was quick to anoint her, “the people’s princess”.
And here we are, a quarter of a century later, still remembering her.
The palace didn’t understand her, she said, “because I do things differently, because I don’t go by a rule book, because I lead from the heart, not the head, and albeit that’s got me into trouble in my work, I understand that. But someone’s got to go out there and love people and show it,” she told Bashir.
“They see me as a threat of some kind, and I’m here to do good: I’m not a destructive person.
“I think every strong woman in history has had to walk down a similar path, and I think it’s the strength that causes the confusion and the fear.”
They really didn’t know what to do with her – how to harness her enormous popularity, how to help her navigate both that and her emotional issues.
And they didn’t know how to work out a way forward when she and Charles separated.
Diana didn’t go quietly in divorce, or death. Even that threw a spanner in the works of the royal machine – the unprecedented scale and power of public mourning put hitherto unheard-of pressure on the royal family to ditch its stuffy protocols and lower the flag over Buckingham Palace. “Who cares what the rule book says, show some compassion,” was the message, ironically, the same sentiment Diana had long expressed.
So, what was it about Diana that means she’s still the subject of documentaries, movies, books and columns like this, when a whole generation has grown up not knowing her?
The answer is hard to define, like her. She was a contradictory person, who faced struggles within and without, did a lot of good and made a lot of mistakes. But she was beautiful, savvy and compassionate.
Most of all, she was real.
And while her journey was cut short, it seems her story will never end.
25 ways in which Diana changed the royals forever
It has been 25 years since Diana, Princess of Wales died on August 31, 1997, and over that quarter of a century, the royal family has changed dramatically, thanks to the People’s Princess and her lasting legacy.
To mark the anniversary, here’s 25 ways in how the People’s Princess changed the royal family forever.
She made it normal to grieve openly
When Diana died, there was an outpouring of grief of a type never seen before – with the gates of Kensington and Buckingham palaces becoming a sea of flowers. The era of the stiff upper lip, as William later said, was over.
She cuddled children
Considering the Queen only did the first walkabout in Australia and New Zealand in 1970, it was a big leap when newlywed Diana started cuddling children on her public outings, a decade later.
And she got down to their level
As well as cuddling them, Diana famously crouched down to talk to children, sharing personal information with them and making them feel special. Catherine continues to do this.
She took off her gloves
It sounds silly now, but Diana dispensed with gloves, so she could touch people properly. Gloves, and formality, would become a thing of the past.
She embraced AIDS patients
When Diana touched and hugged AIDS patients in the late 1980s, it was radical, but she knew the power she had to change public perception and bring solace.
Diana championed causes others would not
She also campaigned for the homeless and mine-clearing charities, literally walking through a minefield in Angola for the Halo Trust. William and Harry later took on her charities.
She showed William and Harry real life
Diana was keen her sons saw all sides of life and took them to meet AIDS patients and homeless people, off camera. This had a profound effect on both of them.
She made it OK to talk about mental health
Diana was extremely open, even about her bulimia. It paved the way for William and Harry to start their Heads Together mental health initiative and share their emotional journeys – something Harry, in particular, continues to do.
Her death made the Queen break protocol
One of the most symbolic changes came when the force of public opinion made the Queen lower the flag to half-mast over Buckingham Palace, breaking protocol, but moving with the times.
… and show emotion
It also forced a shocked Queen to make a much more emotional speech than she had ever done, saying, “What I say to you now … I say from my heart. I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death.”
Her legacy lives on through the wives
Much was made of Diana being a “commoner”, yet she was aristocratic compared to the women her sons married – Catherine, whose mum Carole was an air hostess and Meghan, a Hollywood actress.
She took the Royals to America
Although the Queen has always been welcomed in the US, Diana brought rock-star qualities with her when she visited. It paved the way for William and Catherine’s rapturous reception in Hollywood in 2011 and later Harry and Meghan.
And she considered moving there
Diana loved the US so much, her butler Paul Burrell said she wanted to move there. Harry did just that.
Harry continues her complicated relationship with the press
Diana courted press, often tipping off columnists about her whereabouts herself, but was also tormented by it. This complex relationship continues with Harry.
She started new wedding vows
Does any bride vow to “obey” their husband anymore? That’s thanks to Diana, who was seen as extremely modern for refusing to say that when she wed Charles in 1981.
She was a hands-on mum
Diana was a young, fun, hands-on mum, pictured splashing in the pool or taking them to amusement parks.
She parented in a loving, modern way and every royal mother who followed, did the same.
She picked nearby schools
While the Queen had been home-tutored and Philip packed off Charles, Andrew and Edward to Gordonstoun in Scotland, Diana chose Ludgrove Prep, then Eton, near Windsor.
William and Catherine chose even more egalitarian schools
Diana’s thoughts on schooling were taken further by William and Catherine, who chose London day school Thomas’s Battersea for George and Charlotte.
She flew with her babies
Unlike the Queen, who left baby Charles at home when she travelled, Diana refused to be parted and took infant William with her on their Australian tour in 1983. William and Catherine did the same with George in 2014.
She ‘wrote’ that book
Diana recorded tapes for Andrew Morton’s seminal book Diana: Her True Story, in 1992. She was determined to get her voice heard and 30 years later, Harry is about to do the same with his autobiography.
The Queen became much more fun
Diana would never have believed the Queen would one day agree to “skydive” into the Olympic Stadium, or take tea with Paddington, but Her Majesty became much more fun as the years went on.
She set a fashion template
While the young Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were all glamour in their day, Diana was a fashion phenomenon. This continued with Catherine, and Meghan.
She was down-to-earth
Much is made about her misery, but Diana also had a lot of fun and wasn’t afraid to show her silly side, messing about with Fergie on the ski slopes. This would be echoed by her children.
She was philanthropic
Diana didn’t just attend events to raise awareness, she went one step further when she sold her gowns for charity in 1997 in New York.
She planned to make documentaries …
Before her death, Diana was excited to be starting to make documentaries, her first being on illiteracy. Harry and Meghan continued this vision.
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