The Memorial Service: August 31, 2007


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Why weren't Viscount and Viscountess Linley and The Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto seated right after Peter Philips? Don't they have precedence over the Queen's cousins?​
 
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You might be confusing the line of succession with order of precendece. They aren't the same thing.
 
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I also found the Linleys and Chattos place surprising, but that is where they were seated, and I believe the Earl of Snowdon was next to them, although I didn't see him (except arriving). Where they sat, in fifth row, was the first of the non-royal rows, so it's still pretty important. They were, after all, next to the Prime Ministers. :)
 
I wonder Why Prime Minister Gordon Brown was seat in the fifth row.
 
Because the HRH pack and immediate kin took up the first four rows. :D
 
Between the royal family and a few high officers of state (for instance, the Lord Chancellor, a member of the PM's cabinet, outranks him), there are 24 people that come before the Prime Minister.
 
LOL. Just because I began my interest in 1957 doesn't mean I don't possess or have never looked at film or cuttings or articles or books which were published prior to that. :)
What I meant was that I've spent nearly 50 years reviewing and researching things because I was interested. I tend to agree with you that it was the return from Canada in November 1951 which has lead to the false assertion of the handshake greeting. There isn't a photo which shows it. I have video of the occasion. The Princess gets off the train, greets her mother, reaches out to Prince Charles and touches either his cheek or his head and then bends over and gives him a kiss either on the cheek or his hair . There was NO handshake. I realize this isn't the kind of swoop in pick me up kind of greeting that Diana would have given, but it certainly isn't any formal cold handshake greeting either.

LOL that's OK but 1957 seemed to have been passed off as the magical year that stamps a final authority on the truth of the matter. Ooops don't get me wrong. I am a firm fan of the Queen and admire her immensely. I just expressed an opinion that Diana's greeting delighted me. Please forgive me for that.
 
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Those of us who lived the same time as Diana will always recall the events, and those who were not of an age to recall, shall not. They, and future generations, will learn of her but they shall not remember.

I'm forever saying 'sorry to be so late', I know.

My personal view is that generations to come will always believe that they 'know' Diana and will admire her and value her for what she represented - which, to be fair and honest - wasn't inconsiderable in terms of compassion for her fellow men and women.

My strong opinion is that she's now evolved into 'Diana in the Sky with Diamonds', and despite her detractors, is now unassailable in the Realms of the Remarkable.
 
That's quite ok, Polly. A mother on the move I pressume ;)

A truly lovely post.
 
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"The post-Diana emotional spasm was Britain’s most shameful moment."

Debo Devonshire reminds us of a Britain with backbone and purpose – Telegraph Blogs



and an interesting reaction by one reader to this article(quote):

..............I think that Diana was sharply lacking in knowledge and virtue, and notably lacking in patriotism, too.
I was not an eager follower of hers so perhaps I missed it, but I cannot recall once hearing her speak up for Britain, on behalf of Britain, or in Britain’s interests (unlike her husband, by the way).
Did she ever say ‘I love England’? Taking one of the numerous opportunities that must have arisen, did she ever say ‘I’m grateful to my country for all it’s given me?’
Or: ‘I respect my country and what it’s done for the world?’
Or even something as apolitical as: ‘Isn’t England a beautiful place?’
Charles, whatever his faults, is a modern patriot, who appreciates the good he finds in his country — and, given their service, we may say the same of his sons.
But I never felt that Diana was the least patriotic, to her shame. She may have been called ‘the people’s princess’ (meaning that she flattered them by her inner ordinariness), but as an English princess she was a vacuous ungrateful schoolgirl...........
 
very interesting susan alicia....i think it's a good point. mind you, for what it's worth, early on in her marriage she did support britain's fashion designers by wearing their clothes.
 
and an interesting reaction by one reader to this article(quote):
...But I never felt that Diana was the least patriotic, to her shame...but as an English princess she was a vacuous ungrateful schoolgirl.
I think this writer did not follow Diana, Princess of Wales. The song at her wedding, that she picked, was "I vow to thee my country'. It was her way to tell how she saw her new role as princess to the people of the commonwealth.

She gave birth to two sons that she raised to be wonderful princes and to continue the royal line.To me this shows her patriotism.

She picked British designers for her fashion,she really help the British fashion business.

She was also a hard working royal and did tireless work for her charities-hospitals in London and the poor of London.

Prince Charles was doing his royal duties long before she came on the scene. He is a proud man and she had to develop a role and not take his interest. Unfortunately, that did not work out for them and help break the marriage down. Yes, in my mind the comments above don't fit with the wonderful caring People Princess that I read about.:);):)
 
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It should be noted that that the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire comes from a different time, so that takes into account (at least IMO) for her opinion of the new emotional Britian. Furthermore, she comes from the same mindset that if one's husband's cheated, the wife should have just got on with it and ignored it. The same attitude that a majority of women in her generation and social standing had. That definitely didn't pass down to Frances Shand Kydd and her daughter.
 
One of the parts of the Panorama interview that didn't make headlines was when Diana talked about Britain and doing things to support Britain. She certainly seemed patriotic at that point.:flowers:
 
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I remember watching her wedding and being awestruck by it. I never impinged that I would watch her funeral on TV.
 
Yes, and the latter event only 16 years, a month, and a couple of days from the first.:sad:
 
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I remember watching her wedding and being awestruck by it. I never impinged that I would watch her funeral on TV.

We never imagine watching someones funeral on telly.
 
People can talk about their hard feelings about the past, but it don't take away from the fact that Charles was too hurt by Diana's tragic demise. As I said before, some mourners were too wrapped up in their own grief, sadness and emotions from the past to even understand what he went through after her passing. Yes, there were death threats from crazy people, but for some folks, I think it was just emotions talking.

Also, it's true, Charles was and still is a very good father. Charles and Diana may had their differences on some issues, but they had a loving shared interest in bringing up their kids. Once Diana passed, Charles continued on raising the kids in the way he and Diana wanted.

I remember the way he looked in the aftermath of passing and even during her 10 anniversary memorial service and it wasn't pretty. I think it's one of the reasons why he prefers to not talk about it.
 
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I dont recollect him looking upset At Diana's Memorial. I thtink he was certianly very upset when she died, only a monster would have No feeling when the woman he had beene married to died tragically at 36....but he wasn't broken hearted...
 
I dont recollect him looking upset At Diana's Memorial. I thtink he was certianly very upset when she died, only a monster would have No feeling when the woman he had beene married to died tragically at 36....but he wasn't broken hearted...

Oh yes, Charles was upset at the memorial service. His nose and eyes were red. He looked very casted down at the service. He looked the same way at The Queen Mother's funeral too. It's was a painful time for Charles too.
 
I doubt if he was as upset at an event 10 years after his ex wife's death, as he might have been at the time of her death.. or at the death of his beloved grandmother.
 
:previous:but then again no one would be. No matter how much you love a person you mourn an heal. After ten years even her sons would not be as upset as during her funeral. The anniversary of a loss gets easier every year. You will always miss the person but the pain dwindles. For the boys it is other days which would be harder now. Like for William wishing he had to buy an emgagement ring and wishing his mum was there to help. Or she was there to hold her first grandson. Or that Charlotte didn't have to have Diana as a middle name as her grandma was there to spoil her. All those special moments they wish they could share with her will now be more painful for years to come.
 
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Of course pain eases, as time goes on. So I dnt believe that Charles would be as upset 10 years after Di's death, as he might have been at the time of her funeral..I can't find any pictures of him at the Memorial, but I don't remember him looking tearful
 
If anyone can find a video of the service you will see what I mean. I'm surprised the service was never uploaded to YouTube.
 
As he suffers from rosacea Charles having a red nose, a red face or anything else red doesn't signify anything much.

Copyright is a good reason why things aren't updated and the BBC is very quick to have things taken down as do the royal family if they own the copyright - which they do to some royal events.
 
I looked to and couldn't find it. I don't believe he was upset then after all his live was going pretty well then in ways probably not possible if Diana was alive.


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I agree, he does tend to have reddish tinges on his face due to an outdoor life or roseacea, so I don't think if he had a red nose, it meant anything. ANd while I'm sure he was a bit sad at the 10 years on service, it wasn't like the time of the funeral, when I think he was very upset, and apparently he was seen in tears when he had seen her body. By 2007, he was remarried, his boys were growing up, his life was fairly good, and I'm sure that while it was sad to remember Diana, he wasn't desperately upset then.
 
When you stop to think about it, just the fact that he was there and present for the 10th anniversary service says a mouthful. Perhaps part of the reason was to be there for his sons but I have to believe also that he was there for himself as 10 years down the line, hurts heal and what remains are the good things and the fond memories they shared.

Should my ex-husband pass away tomorrow, I would not go nor be expected to attend the funeral let alone any anniversaries in the years to come.
 
Of course he had to go to the service.
Goodness , even Camilla was invited. The RF aren't like a normal family in the respect that they have to keep up apperances in public in a way that other families may not feel they have to.
I am sure he was glad to go, I think that as time passed, he got over the bad feelings about Diana, he was very sad at her sudden death, and remembered the few good times and how loving a mother she was to the boys. But by 2007, while it was problaby a sobering moment to be at her memorial, it wasn't as painful as it had been at the funeral...
But he certainly got very browned off with her during the bad years, toward the end of the marriage. In Tina Browns book there is a story that he told some guest at Highgrove that he did not read the papers but listened to the news on the raidio.. because he didn't want to open a paper and find out "what my bloody crazy wife has been doing."
I think that this shows he was very very fed up with Diana, and at the time problaby wished that he could get a divorce easily like other men and not see her ever again.
Of course as time passed, and had she lived, I'm sure he would have come out of that mood and been able to see her in a friendly way at times and hopefuly if she'd been around when Will got married etc they would have been there at the ceremony without any backstage rows or dramatics. but I don't think they had reached that stage really before her untimely death.
 
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