Monday, August 31, 2009

Remembering: The Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

It was August 31, 1997 -- twelve years ago, and no doubt many of us can remember where we were when we heard about the car accident that took the lives of Diana, her companion Dodi Fayed, and Henri Paul, the driver. Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones alone survived. The following is a compilation of BCC news reports from that fateful evening, a night that changed history.



Diana's allure has barely dimmed in the subsequent dozen years since her death, and her legacy lives on in the work of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. Whether you are or were a royal watcher or not, it made no difference; the fascinating and heartfelt outpouring of emotion transfixed the world. This was another event where television brought the world together as one.

3 comments:

Jane said...

Was it ONLY 12 years ago that Princess Diana died? I guess so. I remember waking up at 3am to watch the funeral. They sure did give her a good send off, after all the Sturm and Drang. I cried all the way through and then got a terrible sinus headache. Earlier in the week my Dad had called me, which was so weird because he never called. He wanted me to know that the Queen was going to speak. I caught her comments on the radio coming back from lunch on Santa Monica boulevard. It was so surreal.

Lisa said...

My favorite part of your story was the call from your father. That was so sweet of him to let you know and also amazing because he never called. My dad never called me, either, not even to remind me about the Queen, darn it!

Very very surreal, the whole thing. I remember also getting a horrible throbbing headache from all the crying -- me, too (not as much as Princess Grace's funeral several years before, but too much!) -- and the tension of probably the whole Earth sending off such immense waves of sorrow and shared misery.

Weird and amazing memories we all have of this incredible TV event. I will post some link to the funeral coverage later...

Jane said...

There is just something about British royalty that is endlessly fascinating. I loved the movie "The Queen". A post about the TV coverage of the Princess Di funeral is an excellent idea. I will add a comment about having to wake up in the middle of the night to watch live television for both the Princess Wedding AND the Princess funeral, because of the London to LA time difference. Sad book ends to a royal life.