PROFILES
PROFILES
Princess Diana,
Revisited after a Decade
By The Ambassadors Staff
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Had the beautiful peoples' princess lived she would have been 46. The people will never forget sitting glued to the televisions as they watched her wedding to Prince Charles. They will also never forget the unfolding tale of her divorce and death, followed by many conspiracy theories.
On the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's tragic
death, commemorations in London including a concert in her memory organized by
her sons William and Harry, a slue of books, mugs and memorabilia. Of all the
books, Tina Brown's spirited The Diana Chronicles garnered the most
pre-publication publicity, but the appetite for tragic princess tales may be
satiated. Brown was the former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. Her
book reinforces what we already knew about Diana: Her difficult childhood, her
extreme lack of education, and her divorce. The book tells the story with Prince
Philip telling her "if you don't behave my girl, we will take your title away."
She responded, ,"my title is a lot older than you Philip replied the girl whose
own noble lineage dated back centuries further than the house of Windsor. The
book added one heart-tugging little anecdote: After the accident but before her
death, when it seems possible for one moment that Diana might be coming home
brain damaged or paralyzed, Charles apparently said to an aide "I always thought
Diana would come back to me, needing to be cared for." tributes to Diana,
Princess of Wales, were tied to the gate of Kensington Palace in London on 31
August .
The official 10th anniversary memorial ceremony at Guards Chapel in London was attended by Her Majesty the Queen Prince Charles and Prince William and Prince Harry and 5 other guests. The archbishop of Canterbury composed two special prayers for the occasion each praising Diana's noblest traits, her vulnerability and her willingness to reach out to the excluded touched us all. Her generosity gave joy and hope to many.
Her
supporters might take hope in the precedent set by Diana's illustrious and
troubled ancestor Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. The parallels between
the two women is uncanny. They are both Spencers, raised at the family seat of
Althrop, two hundred years apart. Georgiana was also widely adored by the public
and ignored by a cold husband who preferred the favours of another woman. She
too was a style icon and a keen manipulator of the popular press, one of the
first national figures that the whole country read about and discussed and with
whom they could feel a sense of connection writes Amanda Foreman in her
award-winning biography, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire. Georgiana's life, like
Diana's, ended early and in a bit of shambles, marred by gambling debt and
ill-chosen men, but at their funerals, thousands of people lined the streets.
But she was largely forgotten for two centuries until Foreman's biography
revived her memory.
Diana's son, Prince Harry is continuing good work on the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Foundation which collected millions of sterling and supporting different humanitarian projects.
Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall was invited to attend the Friday ceremony in Willington Barraks in London by Diana's sons. When she heard that more than half of the people surveyed don't accept her attendance and also the majesty the queen supported the view she announced she would not attend. Hardcore Diana fans, who accuse Camilla for destroying Diana's marriage to Charles were relieved. While some said it was inappropriate for her to attend the ceremony, others threatened to pelt her with eggs if she took her seat. It is well known that Camilla had a long affair with Prince Charles that happened during his marriage with Diana. Also some people remember Diana in an interview with the BBC declaring "there were three of us in this marriage, so it got a bit crowded."
 An immortalized moment from Prince Charles' wedding to Diana in 1981 |
 Prince Charles' second marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. |
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On the year of the 10th anniversary for Diana's death, Sir George Pinker, the surgeon-gynaecologist to the Queen (post he held from 1973-1990) died at the age of 82. He had assisted Princess Diana, in the delivery of her two sons, in addition to attending the births of nine royal children. In his retirement, from 1992 to 1995, he was president of the Royal Society of Medicine. In 1992, the royal patients held a surprise party for him. In this picture he is with Queen Anne Marie of the Hellenes, Queen Noor of Jordan, Duchess of Kent, Princess Diana and Princess Michael of Kent.
