Last Hours, Death, Transfer from France, Funeral and Interment

[Mermaid1962]

I agree. Margaret could be willful and imperious.

[Dman]

Originally Posted by Denville

She would not feel like that. She was sure that as a royal, she was superior to Diana who was only royal by marriage. I believe that once Diana had started to "act up" she abruptly fell out with her.. and relations between them were chilly.. and I think that she dindt try to hide her irritation at having to go to a funeral for someone she didn't care about.

That's just called being spoiled. Margaret pretty much had her nose so far in the air, she couldn't even smell her own mouthwash.

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by Dman

That's just called being spoiled. Margaret pretty much had her nose so far in the air, she couldn't even smell her own mouthwash.

Kind of reminds me of Andrew in a way. Margaret was second to the Queen and Andrew is secondary to Charles. I'm just glad it doesn't seem like Harry is like that at all with being secondary to William.

One thing for certain though is that Margaret attended Diana's funeral as a duty then actively mourning her death. To be honest, I never cared for things I had to do out of duty rather than wanting to be there. Its something though that we all have to do in life.

[Dman]

Originally Posted by Osipi

Kind of reminds me of Andrew in a way. Margaret was second to the Queen and Andrew is secondary to Charles. I'm just glad it doesn't seem like Harry is like that at all with being secondary to William.

One thing for certain though is that Margaret attended Diana's funeral as a duty then actively mourning her death. To be honest, I never cared for things I had to do out of duty rather than wanting to be there. Its something though that we all have to do in life.

Sometimes you just have to put duty aside and just be human and have some empathy.

[Denville]

I think that Margaret was just more open about her disdain for Diana nad for being forced into going to the funeral, than other royals, because she is bad mannered, selfish and unpleasant and generally speaking did not do her "duty" with very much grace or feeling.
And the fact is that as I've said she was very hostile to Diana in the last years of D's life and although they were neighbours at KP, Diana was NOT welcome in Marg's home

[Queen Claude]

I get what people are saying about in general about Margaret and her personality and shortcomings, but I don't see her behavior as egregiously wrong. Diana at the time of her death was her nephew's ex-wife and, while neighbors, they were not chummy at that time. If these were JPFs (just plain folks) Margaret could've stayed on her vacation and sent flowers and a card, but instead she had to cut a vacation short due to the death of someone she was not close to and she likely spent the days leading up to the funeral watching television where her sister and the BRF were bashed for being cold, out-of-touch and mistreating Diana.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Queen Claude

I get what people are saying about in general about Margaret and her personality and shortcomings, but I don't see her behavior as egregiously wrong. Diana at the time of her death was her nephew's ex-wife and, while neighbors, they were not chummy at that time. If these were JPFs (just plain folks) Margaret could've stayed on her vacation and sent flowers and a card, but instead she had to cut a vacation short due to the death of someone she was not close to and she likely spent the days leading up to the funeral watching television where her sister and the BRF were bashed for being cold, out-of-touch and mistreating Diana.

but they are not "just plain folks". they are the royal family and they're supposed to behave with good breeding and to do things that are not always expected of ordinary people.
I don't believe that anyone in the RF except Charles and the boys were that grieved, but they showed proper respect for someone who had died tragically young, was the mother of Charles's children, and had been part fo the family...

[Nico]

Originally Posted by Denville

but they are not "just plain folks". they are the royal family and they're supposed to behave with good breeding and to do things that are not always expected of ordinary people.
I don't believe that anyone in the RF except Charles and the boys were that grieved, but they showed proper respect for someone who had died tragically young, was the mother of Charles's children, and had been part fo the family...

At least Margaret was not hypocritical, unlike too many on that day.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Denville

but they are not "just plain folks". they are the royal family and they're supposed to behave with good breeding and to do things that are not always expected of ordinary people.
I don't believe that anyone in the RF except Charles and the boys were that grieved, but they showed proper respect for someone who had died tragically young, was the mother of Charles's children, and had been part fo the family...

Many people die young and younger than her.

She had no personal connection. The other royals did. Philip and Elizabeth went because it was their grandsons mother. Philip walked not out of respect for a woman who nearly destroyed their family in their minds, but in support of his grandsons. The other kids she was their aunt. That is a bond.

For Margaret she was her sisters ex daughter in law. There was no real relationship. Being the mother of her great nephews in itself doesn't automatically earn you resoect. Just because your son is the future king, doesn't mean people have to forget all you have done.

If Diana hadn't been the do called People's princess she would have had a private funeral, that a few royaks workd attend for the sake of her kids. Even as the mother of a future king. And no one would bat an eyelash at it.

If any Royal ex died tomorrow, would we expect a royal funeral with a huge Royal contingent? I highly doubt it.

[Denville]

She was not a "royal ex" she was the mother of a future King. She had been part of their family for many years. She was enormously well loved. And yes when someone dies you "forget and forgive their faults" at least for the duration of the funeral....

[Dman]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

Many people die young and younger than her.

She had no personal connection. The other royals did. Philip and Elizabeth went because it was their grandsons mother. Philip walked not out of respect for a woman who nearly destroyed their family in their minds, but in support of his grandsons. The other kids she was their aunt. That is a bond.

For Margaret she was her sisters ex daughter in law. There was no real relationship. Being the mother of her great nephews in itself doesn't automatically earn you resoect. Just because your son is the future king, doesn't mean people have to forget all you have done.

If Diana hadn't been the do called People's princess she would have had a private funeral, that a few royaks workd attend for the sake of her kids. Even as the mother of a future king. And no one would bat an eyelash at it.

If any Royal ex died tomorrow, would we expect a royal funeral with a huge Royal contingent? I highly doubt it.

Everything was different for Diana's passing. She was the former Princess of Wales, former future Queen, mother of the future King and pretty beloved by the people. This all put her death on another level.

Also, Diana did not nearly "destroy" the royal family. The family has been through much worser times than an publicized separation and divorce. The media hype made it seem like it was the end of days.

[Nico]

Originally Posted by Denville

She was not a "royal ex" she was the mother of a future King. She had been part of their family for many years. She was enormously well loved. And yes when someone dies you "forget and forgive their faults" at least for the duration of the funeral....

Right. But i guess some members of the BRF felt they were a bit pushed into some very public display by Tony "people's princess" Blair.

[Dman]

Originally Posted by Nico

Right. But i guess some members of the BRF felt they were a bit pushed into some very public display by Tony "people's princess" Blair.

People can say what they want about Tony Blair, but I think he put things just right at the time. I have a problem with the guy over the Iraq war, but he did what was right in the aftermath of Diana's passing.

[Nico]

Originally Posted by Dman

People can say what they want about Tony Blair, but I think he put things just right at the time. I have a problem with the guy over the Iraq war, but he did what was right in the aftermath of Diana's passing.

I disagree. He acted like a politician, with opportunism. As such he went against the family wishes for a private mourning and offered, litteraly, a grieving BRF to the public.
At least they had their revenge when he was not invited to the Royal wedding in 2011...

[Dman]

Originally Posted by Nico

I disagree. He acted like a politician, with opportunism. As such he went against the family wishes for a private mourning and offered, litteraly, a grieving BRF to the public.
At least they had their revenge when he was not invited to the Royal wedding in 2011...

There was a private mourning by the family. They paid their respects to Diana in private, but there had to be a public memorial. Diana was a popular senior royal for sixteen years, traveled around the world and touched many people's lives. The public wanted to pay tribute to her and they did so. The public also can back together to pay tribute to her during the tenth anniversary of her death with the concert and memorial service.

I don't think the royal family have anything against Blair over the funeral, but a lot of harsh feelings over the Iraq war.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Nico

I disagree. He acted like a politician, with opportunism. As such he went against the family wishes for a private mourning and offered, litteraly, a grieving BRF to the public.
At least they had their revenge when he was not invited to the Royal wedding in 2011...

what wishes for a private mourning? Di's family did wish for a private funeral but when they saw the crowds they realised that they could not deny the public a chance to say goodbye to Diana.. and that she was, as well as being their sister, a beloved public figure. THe RF didn't wish IMO for any mourning.. and if it hadn't been for Blair, they woud have been very very unpopular..

[Nico]

Originally Posted by Denville

what wishes for a private mourning? Di's family did wish for a private funeral but when they saw the crowds they realised that they could not deny the public a chance to say goodbye to Diana.. and that she was, as well as being their sister, a beloved public figure. THe RF didn't wish IMO for any mourning.. and if it hadn't been for Blair, they woud have been very very unpopular..

So you're saying that the Spencers chose the public funerals ?
Now that's new !

[Denville]

I think that they felt that it was the only reasonable opton. and the RF realised that they had to be involved as they could organise a "state type " funeral based on plans for the Q Mother's funeral. I'd assume that Charles Spencer and Charles POW talked itover too.

[Dman]

Both the Spencer's and royal family thought of a private memorial service, but once they saw the public wanted to pay their respects too, the only option was to put together a major funeral service. It was the right way to go.

[Iluvbertie]

It wasn't what the public wanted but what the media were demanding.

When it was first announced that she had died the public blamed the media for her deaths with calls towards reporters etc at KP of 'killers' and 'murderers'.

The press was then faced with three options:

1. Do nothing and be blamed for her death with the resultant downturn in revenue
2. Turn the blame onto others - Diana herself for not wearing a seatbelt - couldn't do that as Blair had already hijacked the mourning with his 'People's Princess' comment and the public were taking him at his word
3. Blame the royal family who they knew would never fight back and so they turned the public against the BRF (and many have not come back since then). The media kept up the pressure on the BRF with the flag issue (a flag on BP never flies at half-mast - it didn't for George VI or George V or Edward VII or Victoria but the Queen was forced to allow it for Diana), the headlines of 'where is she' and photos of the Queen - who was doing what any good grandmother should have been doing - helping her grandsons cope with the death of their mother. Any other employer would have allowed a grandmother, in similar circumstances where the grandsons were staying with the grandmother and heard that their mother had died, to take a week to be with them but not the British and world press and the British public - they demanded that their needs were more important than the needs of William and Harry. I remember Philip's comment when they did return to London and someone in the crowd called out 'make sure you take care of those boys' and he came back with 'what do you think we have been doing?'

The press and the public were out of control and there were real fears that there would have been an attack - particularly on Charles - during the funeral.