20th Anniversary of the Death of Diana, Princess of Wales: August 31, 2017


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:previous: Exactly. As any good parent who loves his/her children and sees them suffering would be.

Also, just because Charles was not in love with his ex-wife doesn't mean he didn't care for her, and was not as shocked as the rest of the world was by the sudden violence of her death.
 
I said that he cared for her and it was obvious that he was grieved, but I can't imagine he would be broken hearted over a woman he had been at odds with for years... when he was Living with another woman who had been his lover and close friend for a longer time. And he's not likely to lose his composure nor IMO to be drinking.
 
I don't know if it's been mentioned here already but there was a programme on British TV called Diana: The Day Britain Cried and at first I wasn't going to watch it because I thought it wouldn't be very good; but I'm glad I watched it because there was some good footage of the funeral and events leading up to it (none that we haven't seen before; but still worth watching again). If you're not from the UK it also gives you a good idea of the mood of the country at the time of Diana's death, so it's worth a watch for that reason - although many know about the UK's mood in 1997 now, I would still recommend it. It was also nice to hear tidbits from those who were involved in the funeral.

It was lovely to see the Cambridges and Prince Harry visit the memorial, and it was really nice that they read all the individual messages of sympathy. I particularly liked the clip were they were looking at photos people had put up at the memorial of them with their mother as young children. Those would be nice memories to share with Catherine, who never got to experience Diana on a personal level (or at least, not that I know of); and also George and Charlotte (and any future children of Harry).
 
I said that he cared for her and it was obvious that he was grieved, but I can't imagine he would be broken hearted over a woman he had been at odds with for years... when he was Living with another woman who had been his lover and close friend for a longer time. And he's not likely to lose his composure nor IMO to be drinking.

By most accounts they(Charles and Diana) were no longer at odds at the time of her death. She had written him a lovely letter on the death of his godfather, he called her and even stopped by for tea at Kensington Palace on occasion. In videotape of the two of them arriving for William's Confirmation they greet one another with an affectionate kiss.

There are a couple of ways to interpret author Anderson's description of the PoW "drinking" on the flight home. One is that he was drunk and stumbling and forgetting names, another is that he simply requested a drink from the stewards to steady his nerves from the harrowing experiences he had just gone through and would face ahead.

I am pretty certain it was the latter.

I have no problem believing that at all, unless Prince Charles is well known as a non drinker.
 
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Sitting in the back and drinking and on his phone, to me, mostly signifies that he was phoning ahead and perhaps working on the funeral arrangements, the pick up at the airport in the UK and getting things in order.

Drinking could mean anything. It could be tea, coffee, a Pepsi or a stiff bourbon. I would opt for caffeine as he'd been through a harrowing night, then the flight to Paris to retrieve the body and that experience had to have been nerve jangling to say the least. Charles has the kind of personality that doesn't stop when he's set his mind to doing something.

He most certainly did not look soused at arriving at the airport in the UK.
 
They were being polite. Diana knew that she would look bad to the public if she kept on the war of the Waleses, so she acted politely, and she also was keeping up a polite front for the children's sake.. but I think she was still unhappy and angry at being replaced by Camilla and while Charles had problaby stopped being furiously angry with her, by then, I don't think he was likely to be heart broken at her death.
Sad yes, but hardly upset to the point where he was likely to break down in public.
He has never done that.
And he's not, as far as I know, much of a drinker..
I dotn know what Chirstopher Andersen is likely as a royal biographer but I am not sure if he's always accurate.
 
As Charles is a virtual teetotaller I doubt he drunk that much on the plane. Maybe he had one drink - or maybe he was drinking water and the author left out that word to make people believe it was alcohol - to paint him in a bad light.
 
Drinking could mean anything. It could be tea, coffee, a Pepsi or a stiff bourbon. I would opt for caffeine as he'd been through a harrowing night, then the flight to Paris to retrieve the body and that experience had to have been nerve jangling to say the least. Charles has the kind of personality that doesn't stop when he's set his mind to doing something.

He most certainly did not look soused at arriving at the airport in the UK.

drinking means drinking alcohol. Of course he wasn't likely to be drinking to any kind of point where he might appear drunk in public.
 
He was obviously not intoxicated at any point during that week, but why would he have been if he had had an alcoholic drink or two on the way back to London to steady his nerves after what he had been through?
 
20 years later, Diana, Princess of Wales continues to be inspirational for millions of people of all races around the world.

She is missed and will always be missed. :britflag2::glyndwr::royalstandard::britflag::usaflag::usaflag::crown2::crown4:

I wonder how the other members of the British Royal Family felt when they heard the news that she died in the car crash at the hospital.

Especially Princesses Alexandra and Alice.
 
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Yes, I agree. I was too upset to watch live but I saw photos later. It was poignant and dignified as it should have been.

In Christopher Anderson's " Diana's Boys" he wrote that the trip back across the Channel with Diana's coffin was a nightmare for all involved. Diana's sisters Lady Jane and Lady Sarah were weeping and continually crying out for "Duch, Duch, Duch!", and poor Charles was so undone he sat in the back of the plane drinking and talking on the phone to the Prime Minister for much of the voyage.

Honestly Dman, I know you said it's more about celebrating her life than grieving and I agree 100% but I find all of this incredibly painful to remember. I miss the late princess but will be glad when this week is over.:sad:

Christopher Andersen's books are a bunch of gossipy drivel, in my opinion. I tend to take a lot of what he writes with a large mound of salt.
 
US press coverage has been common and tragically insipid all day long IMHO. :sad:

The message:
Diana changed the world
Charles is in hiding, because, well how would you face out on this anniversary
The boys are her legacy

All of that has truth in it, but it is just so americanized I hate it.

Those of us old enough, remember the day she died. I remember how shocked and muddled I felt. I was so proud for the British public for coming out to mourn her. I did worry for Wills and Harry, because they were at such vulnerable ages, and I did not trust Charles to keep her memory alive with the boys (I should have - he has been so good with that). Even then, I understood the Queen's style enough that I understood her reaction - and even empathized with it. But I also thought she was missing the point of the modern public reaction and was so happy when she figured out that stiff upper lip was not enough any more. I did not care much for Charles at that point, and it peeved me that he walked in the cortege. I had NO IDEA the children were less than enthusiastic about that long walk. In fact, they seemed to me to be very grounded at the funeral.

Finally, I remember thinking that Diana had made bad choices. Not that I blamed her for her death. I did just wish she had made more thought-out, less risky choices on that final day. As someone who has taken, and learned from risky behavior, I'd be dishonest to not admit that.

And I also remember knowing how much I would miss her going forward. Still do.
 
Yes, I agree. I was too upset to watch live but I saw photos later. It was poignant and dignified as it should have been.

In Christopher Anderson's " Diana's Boys" he wrote that the trip back across the Channel with Diana's coffin was a nightmare for all involved. Diana's sisters Lady Jane and Lady Sarah were weeping and continually crying out for "Duch, Duch, Duch!", and poor Charles was so undone he sat in the back of the plane drinking and talking on the phone to the Prime Minister for much of the voyage.

Honestly Dman, I know you said it's more about celebrating her life than grieving and I agree 100% but I find all of this incredibly painful to remember. I miss the late princess but will be glad when this week is over.:sad:

Her passing was very upsetting, but I'm glad William and Harry are taking charge of these commemorations, her life and legacy. It's what I've been waiting for them to do. Even with the private re-dedication service at her grave, and the Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace exhibitions, it let us know this is a family effort to keep her memory alive.

Let's not forget that there will be the statue unveiled later this year. I think this will be a Spencer and royal family and public event.
 
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Her passing was very upsetting, but I'm glad William and Harry are taking charge of these commemorations, her life and legacy. It's what I've been waiting for them to do. Even with the private re-dedication service at her grave, and the Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace exhibitions, it let us know this is a family effort to keep her memory alive.

Let's not forget that there will be the statue unveiled later this year. I think this will be a Spencer and royal family and public event.

True, all the members of the BRF should be there, including Anne, Alexandra, and Princesses Michael and Richard.
 
True, all the members of the BRF should be there, including Anne, Alexandra, and Princesses Michael and Richard.

There is no Princess Richard, if you mean the Duke of Gloucester's wife she is the Duchess of Gloucester. And I don't see why the entire extended royal family should have to be there.
 
There is no Princess Richard, if you mean the Duke of Gloucester's wife she is the Duchess of Gloucester. And I don't see why the entire extended royal family should have to be there.

They should. For 15 years, Diana was the third highest ranking woman of the nation.
 
We've already been through the relationships Diana had or rather didn't have with members of the extended family like the Gloucesters and Princess Alexandra on the 'Diana and relationships with other Royals' thread, where you asked questions about it, Westfield Bakery.

Everyone who responded to you there agreed that the relationships were probably cordial when they met, (which was rarely) in a 'Hello, how are you?' fashion, but that was it.

Princess Michael was closer because she was a neighbour of Diana's at KP. There was trouble about her roaming cats at one stage, I seem to remember, and she was kind later about Diana not having to curtsey to her, but at no time could the two women have been described as friends.

I don't think anyone from the BRF except the brothers and Kate will be at the statue unveiling ceremony, though possibly their cousins the York princesses and the Tindalls and Peter Phillips might be there. They will probably invite Diana's friends, and her family almost certainly, and perhaps people from her charities too, IMO.
 
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What an extraordinary article Dman. Thanks for posting it. Although I am, as you know, one of Diana's most ardent fans, I'm a bit ambivalent about much of it. Nevertheless, it is thought provoking.
 

This is perhaps one of the best articles I've read reflecting on Diana among all the multitudes of what has been written in the past couple of months.

I do not see Diana as I did 20 years ago but I'd like to think that I understand her more than I did then. No pointing fingers or casting blame or whatever but more of an acceptance of her humanity and its impact that she had globally. She was so very human that its hard to not find some areas of her life and times that resonates with our own.

Thanks for posting this article, Dman. Its a read well worth the time. :flowers:
 
It matters less what may have been her motives for her charity work, but more how those felt who were on the receiving end of that work. I'm pleased if she got some sort of fulfillment from it -I see nothing wrong in feeling pleased that we've helped make others' lives better- and it saddens me that she felt unappreciated by the person she most needed to feel appreciated by.
 
she felt unappreciated by the person she most needed to feel appreciated by.

Indeed, altho' there is no evidence of any appreciation by her of her Husbands 'life work', indeed she publicly denigrated it, which the Prince NEVER did to her..
 
Indeed, altho' there is no evidence of any appreciation by her of her Husbands 'life work', indeed she publicly denigrated it, which the Prince NEVER did to her..

I have no memory of her doing such at the start of their marriage, Indeed, she appeared to hang onto his every word.
 
Indeed, altho' there is no evidence of any appreciation by her of her Husbands 'life work', indeed she publicly denigrated it, which the Prince NEVER did to her..

nonsense, she never denigrated his work.
 
^ Saying in her NOTORIOUS interview 'he shouldn't be King' seems a crystal clear 'write off' to me...
 
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^^ That's not a denigration of 'his work,' involving his charities, etc. IMO, it's more a reflection of Diana's disappointment, frustration and anger at her husband in regard to their personal differences and his inability to understand and to love her. Diana and Charles were both very needy emotionally and very unsuited to each other in many ways. What a blessing it is though that together they produced such fine sons: William and Harry.

It seems to me that despite the problems and personality differences Diana and Charles experienced, they were fairly much on the same page in how much they loved their sons, and in how they chose to raise them. Remarkably, their sons appear to love and respect both of their parents, despite their parents' personal failings and marriage break-up.
 
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Just a silly question here.........what day is today? Sept 1, 2017, isn't it time to move on from this Diana tirade that has been going on now for how many months, years and generations............honestly I really don't think there is anything left of her to talk about anymore, and YES I know we all have our own opinions here and can voice them......yet she has been pulled apart, upside down, inside out, turned every which way, buried and the reopened again, taken apart and put back together and then taken apart again.......what is left of this poor soul to talk about, drag down, build up, turn around and again and again and then doctored all over again.........and still someone finds something else to cut up and chew up and spit out again and again..........poor lady must be laughing her head off at all the silliness that goes on about her life from above. Her boys must so be wanting to breath a breath of fresh air now that the time of her passing has past and all can move on peacefully or some not........... for they live their life through her only each day......:bang:

My deepest apologizes to everyone here and to the mods for my tirade on this subject....hiding in my deep part of the earth so you can't find me...:whistling::argh::hiding::headache::frazzled:
 
Thank you for telling me that as I did not know that and it shows me that there is so little to really talk about and how sad that this is still going on with very little thought of what to say anymore, it is a repeat of repeat again and again and that is such a waste as there is more to life then one person regardless of whom she was married to or what she did........some just can't get over her passing it seems and are stuck in time way back when...moving on here...........
 
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