In Loving Memory of Princess Diana

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Karin Schill

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Hi Everyone,

Today marks the 20th Anniversary of Princess Diana's untimely death in Paris, France. So I thought I'd start a thread for everyone who want to remember her. Where were you when you first heard?

How did the news affect you?

I was 17 years old when she died and I heard it from my mom who was talking to my grandma on the phone. So at first I thought that it was someone I knew who had died. So to find out that it was Princess Diana was a shock. I remember how the first words I said was "Poor William and Harry. Poor Diana."

Then I burst into tears. I was angry, confused and really sad. I didn't understand why she had to die at the age of 36. Why would God take her so early?

It didn't make any sense to me and for the next couple of weeks I read everything about it looking for answers.

I also turned some of my grief into writing a song about Princess Diana. Some years later I made a fan music video to it so I thought I'd share that video with you all:


Diana was my idol growing up, someone who represented love who I looked up to. I admired the way she treated people she met from all walks of life and how she seemed to be very compassionate and loving.

I never even met her and yet I loved her and well 20 years on I am now a year older than she was when she died. So I am astonished at how much she managed to accomplish in her very short life. Her legacy will live on.

Take care,
Love:
Karin
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Daniel Avery

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There are several documentary-type shows being aired on TV telling essentially the same story over and over, yet I sit through most of them simply because I admired her a great deal.

The evening of her car crash (20 years ago!?!) I was planning to attend the grand opening of a roller skating rink. It was a small college town, so this was kind of a big deal for us. :rolleyes: Anyway, I was trying on my skates while I had CNN on, when the anchor (an overly-tanned man named Linden Soles--funny how you remember such details) reported the crash, offering the information simply as her "possibly being injured" (since that was all they knew at the time). I started watching the bits and pieces of news filtering in and soon lost interest in the skating rink. I sat there in my skates watching CNN, ultimately staying up all night long as the story was reported. I don't think I ever did go to that skating rink.

I had to work the next day, but since we were between semesters at the university, work schedules at the Student Union was kind of unstructured...thank goodness. I wandered into the offices and the receptionist started crying when I brought up the news. She said she'd been at home crying the night before and was as sleep-deprived as I was, and it did not help that she was in her third trimester--her "pregnant crying jags" were legendary. We Southern men tend to fold up like a cheap tent when a woman starts crying, so we could barely interact with one another all week because the news was just so sad. I'd cry if she started crying. The whole staff tip-toed around her.

We got ZERO work done that week, and after the funeral took place we only had one week to prepare for the return of all the student organizations and re-open the building...so we were running around like crazy people to get orientation set up on time.
 
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I visited Susan Hayward's grave the afternoon before Diana died (given the time difference, it was probably two hours before the accident) and then went to a small pool party. On the longish drive home in the middle of the night, I recall playing out in my head Elizabeth Taylor's death scene from CLEOPATRA for some reason (probably re-directing it, although Taylor plays it well) and then turning on the car radio to hear this lovely piece of music by Ravel, one I'd heard many times as I grew up in a classical music household but didn't know the name of.

Just as I pulled into my driveway about 2am, I waited for the music to end in hopes that they'd identify it. And when they did, saying it was "Ode to a Dead Princess" (which I found at first a bit ironic as I'd been running that CLEO scene throughout my mind) and then announcing it was in commemoration of "Princess Diana who died tonight in Paris of a car accident," I was kind of dumbfounded.

I, too, wound up staying up all night watching the TV coverage.

That said, I was never one to buy into her rather transparent shtick, nor demonize Charles. But, hey, it was drama.

I found the live feed of the bells pealing as they drove her hearse away following the ceremony the next weekend quite effective. I think they should have used that footage just before the final scene in THE QUEEN with Helen Mirren.

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Swami

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I vividly recall getting up that morning before 6am, and before I went to go outside, taking a look at the Teletext and couldn't believe what I was reading. Even more vividly, I remember visiting my granny that morning and she was absolutely heartbroken by the news.

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James from London

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Karin Schill said:
How did the news affect you?
Click to expand...

I remember I was worried because the Sunday TV schedules were completely given over to Diana's death and that meant no EastEnders omnibus. It was a five-episode special, all filmed in Paris weirdly enough, and had been very well-reviewed by Nancy Banks Smith in the Guardian so I'd been really looking forward to it. I was concerned it would lost forever in the chaos surrounding Diana's death, but they showed it the following Sunday instead. It was worth the wait.

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Ms Southworth

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In 1997, I was attending university in Canada. As I was watching the news like I often did, it was suddenly reported that Princess Diana had been involved in a car accident in Paris.

This breaking news report caught my attention. And it wasn't until a bit later that the various television channels started reporting that The People's Princess, unfortunately, had died.

I ended up watching the news for almost 24 hours straight to learn everything about this tragedy! I remember crying my eye balls out. I was so sad for Princess Diana, her young sons, and other family members whom she was close to!

The world has never had a princess like her, and I doubt that there will be anyone like her again!

Princess Di: I pray that you're at peace in Heaven! I hope that you're aware that you will never be forgotten!

PS. As I honor the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's passing today, it's also the day to celebrate my daughter's 7th birthday. And you may not believe me when I say that today has also been the day when one of my beloved uncles was laid to rest after a ten year battle with cancer! Thus, August 31 is (and has for many years been) a day with a lot of mixed emotions!
 
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Karin Schill

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James from London said:
I remember I was worried because the Sunday TV schedules were completely given over to Diana's death and that meant no EastEnders omnibus. It was a five-episode special, all filmed in Paris weirdly enough, and had been very well-reviewed by Nancy Banks Smith in the Guardian so I'd been really looking forward to it. I was concerned it would lost forever in the chaos surrounding Diana's death, but they showed it the following Sunday instead. It was worth the wait.
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You know this reminds me of when the Estonia sank. After having a crap day at school and being really worried about my grandma who was on a bus trip and I didn't remember where she had gone, (luckily she didn't go to Estonia even though they had actually discussed it) all I longed for was to come home and watch a "new" episode of Dallas on TV. But when I came home that afternoon all that was being broadcast was a long list of survivors and missing people. It was depressing and I totally understand why they had to broadcast that now. But my 14 year old self was so upset that I couldn't watch Dallas! :lol:
 
pd fan

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Thanks Karin for this great thread of lady Diana

I remember this day perfectly like it was yesterday ; I was just coming back from my holidays and the morning after I listened on television she was dead ; I was totally in shock and I remember I was crying a lot the day of her funeralls:cry: ; I was so sad because for me she was a really great woman; and I reaaly liked her ; what a tragic ending for her I will never forget this moment and never forget this big lady

Karin as as said you before your Lady Diana princess tribute is wonderful music and video Thanks for posting it for her loving memory :kiss:
 
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Karin Schill

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Thank you for sharing Silvie. Yeah the way she died was truly shocking and horrible. I bawled my eyes out during her funeral too. I remember my mom didn't get why I was crying so much for someone I'd never even met.

I'm glad you think the tribute video was wonderful. :)

Also here's another of my Diana tribute videos:


The song selection for that one is from a british choir that Diana was a patron of. So she actually liked this song. :)
 
Rove

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It's an event I and my family will never forget. One minute my family is celebrating the safe arrival of another baby (my niece) into the world the day before (30th). As we're travelling to the hospital the next day NEWS on the car radio informs us Princess Diana had received minor injuries in a car accident in Paris. Nothing more was mentioned during our visit to the hospital while meeting the newest addition. When I arrived home I put the television on and poured myself a cold drink. When I wandered back to the television and read the ticket-tape banner at the bottom of the screen I had to look twice. Then this sick feeling washed over me. The remainder of the day was spent watching the television.

The next day at work was somber, even grown, bullish men were quiet. How does one person, we've never met, have such an effect on the world? For a brief moment in human history the populace had become one.

On a side note. That niece is now a beautiful, confident young woman, forever tied with an event the world stills mourns.

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R.I.P. Di.
 
Daniel Avery

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I recall a similarly unpleasant woman named Penny Junor who used to get her ugly mug on TV whenever the press wanted someone to bash Diana (back when she was still alive). These types of people dwell in the same cesspool as the tabloid employees who lined their pockets at the expense of the Princess, since she was reliably sour about Diana but never turned down an opportunity to earn a few bucks off her. Junor (and I assume this Greer woman too) seemed to think that she could curry favor with the royal family by doing a character assassination on Diana and make Charles look like the injured party. "Sucking up" and "Brown-nosing" are terms that come to mind, but I guess you will always find Useful Idiots to do the dirty work in cases like this.
 
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Daniel Avery said:
I recall a similarly unpleasant woman named Penny Junor who used to get her ugly mug on TV whenever the press wanted someone to bash Diana (back when she was still alive). These types of people dwell in the same cesspool as the tabloid employees who lined their pockets at the expense of the Princess, since she was reliably sour about Diana but never turned down an opportunity to earn a few bucks off her. Junor (and I assume this Greer woman too) seemed to think that she could curry favor with the royal family by doing a character assassination on Diana and make Charles look like the injured party. "Sucking up" and "Brown-nosing" are terms that come to mind, but I guess you will always find Useful Idiots to do the dirty work in cases like this.
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Although I don't think Greer, a certain breed of bottom-drawer feminist, has the agenda of making Charles look good.

She's just a vulgar soul.
 
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Snarky's Ghost said:
Although I don't think Greer, a certain breed of bottom-drawer feminist, has the agenda of making Charles look good.

She's just a vulgar soul.
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Yes, anyone who finds the need to make Charles look good in light of the fact he was cheating on her throughout her marriage is vulgar indeed.
 
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Sarah said:
Yes, anyone who finds the need to make Charles look good in light of the fact he was cheating on her throughout her marriage is vulgar indeed.
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No, Sarah, my point was that Greer's goal wasn't about making Charles look good. (And Charles and Diana both cheated on each other for years, so who cares?)

Greer is simply a horrible person by any measure. And the most contemptible kind of 'feminist.'
 
Sarah

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Snarky's Ghost said:
No, Sarah, my point was that Greer's goal wasn't about making Charles look good. (And Charles and Diana both cheated on each other for years, so who cares?)

Greer is simply a horrible person by any measure. And the most contemptible kind of 'feminist.'
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Oops. :rolleyes:

But yes, Diana cheated, after Charles cheated - he led the path on that one. He never should have married her - he should have just found a way to be with Camilla and avoid as much of the heartache as they both caused. Diana would be alive today without either of them in her life. Awful, awful people.

That's not to say Greer isn't awful. I just don't know much about her!
 
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Sarah said:
Oops. :rolleyes:

But yes, Diana cheated, after Charles cheated - he led the path on that one. He never should have married her - he should have just found a way to be with Camilla and avoid as much of the heartache as they both caused. Diana would be alive today without either of them in her life. Awful, awful people.

That's not to say Greer isn't awful. I just don't know much about her!
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Are Charles and Camilla awful? Charles was under a lot of pressure to marry a virgin with a good background, and Diana obviously understood that ("whatever love means"), and after that disaster, the royal family apparently chose not to place the same pressure on William so he could marry whomever he loved.

Charles had little choice in the matter -- actually, he had less than Diana.

So it doesn't always boil down to Good vs Awful ... unless it's Germain Greer, a breathing imposition on the human race.
 
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