GD+Interview

=The Life and Death of Diana, Princess of Wales=

//August 31st, 1997: Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Al-Fayed, her boyfriend are killed in a high-speed crash in the tunnels under Paris. The entire world mourns her death, outraged that she was killed so young. She was not only a diplomat, but a symbol of hope for countless charities and innumerable victims of disease or crippling accidents. I was six at the time of her death; I wanted to know more about this remarkable woman. I turned to two people who better knew who she was and what she had done for the world- my parents, Brian and Janice.//

The conversation about Princess Diana with Brian and Janice began simply enough. I asked my parents for her general background, in order to better understand where she came from. They told me that she was the daughter of a duke, making her nobility, but not royal blood. [|She was heavily involved with a number of humanitarian movements] (partially because of her influence as a diplomat), chief among them land-mine victim awareness and HIV/AIDS. A kindergarten teacher until she married into the royal family, she had two boys with Prince Charles before they divorced. During (and after) her marriage, she was extremely popular with the people of Britain.

I was quick to ask the next question on my list- exactly what made her as popular as she was? There was no hesitation before Janice spoke. “She was known as [|the common people’s princess],” she said. “She could relate to, understand, and get along with anyone. She was so different from the rest of the royal family- pretty, well-dressed, and personable." Both agreed that she was somewhat of a paradox, as she was relatively shy when she first married into the family- obviously, they said, that had changed by the time of her death. Janice said that she was loved by people of all ages- girls loved her because she was the "fairy-tale princess", and the adults, the baby-boomers, liked and could relate to her because they were the same age. Brian commented that "there was an importance about her being accepted and well liked, since everyone knew she would be the next queen when Elizabeth stepped down." Janice chuckled at this, and after I looked at her inquisitively, she responded that Diana "was extremely popular with heads of state- people enjoyed her presence; she was seen as a diplomat on both ends."

There was a lull in the conversation, so I steered us towards the part of her life that was so controversial- not her life, but rather her death. [|What happened on that early-morning drive?] I knew that she, along with her boyfriend (who some said had proposed to her that night), died in a brutal car accident while being driven by a drunk chauffeur. "And that wasn't the half of it," Brian said. "Diana was constantly tailed by paparazzi looking to get a picture of her. So not only is the chauffeur intoxicated, but he's also driving at high speeds to try and evade the paparazzi, who were absolutely vicious," something her brother Charles (not Prince Charles, but rather Earl Spencer) made note of in his eulogy.

I knew [|the funeral] was a huge affair, so I followed Brian's comment about Charles' eulogy by asking how her death affected the world. My parents took only a fraction of a second to react, but the changes in their demeanors told me that it was still powerful. "All through the world, especially in Britain, there was shock, dismay, and grief- everyone was mourning," Janice commented. "Brian flew to London the day after she died for work and-"

"You couldn't find a positive song anywhere on the radio," Brian interjected. "Even back home in the Netherlands," Janice said, "they covered [|the funeral] on the radio for four hours. Everywhere the casket went, thousands, millions of people went as well. Imagine having Elton John rewrite a song for your funeral. That's how important she was to him, and to the rest of the world." And beyond the short term, I learned, she brought respect to the royal family; she completely changed its image- from a stone-cold, isolated, elitist clan to a group with a face, with a personality: a group that came out among the masses and showed its care for its subjects.

It was getting late, so I asked my parents for their final thoughts. Janice repeated her remarks about how influential and likable she was, but Brian summed it up quite nicely: "It was as if everyone had lost their mother. People die, and no one says anything unless they’re very close. She died, and the whole world cried- that's the positive power that she had." I asked the question that had been on the tip of my tongue: Could anyone replace her? Brian's solemn answer consisted of two words: "Nobody can."

Additional Information: media type="youtube" key="86MQSbZo28Y" height="349" width="425" media type="youtube" key="C1Pu8hET2yo" height="349" width="425"
 * [|This audio file] is an excellent summary of the tumultous time between Diana's death and her funeral. It gives a little background on her life as well.
 * This is a video summary of the highlights of Diana's funeral:
 * This is a video of Elton John performing at Diana's funeral: