Remembering Diana

[Semih_Sayginer]

10 years on. how time "flies"....

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...282170,00.html

[Ekphantos]

well, the reactions after her death were quite an interesting example of mass hysteria. I never understood why people adored her, she was nothing special, just a plain woman who was blinded by the assumed glamour of being part of the royal family and made a very bad decision in marrying Charles. I pity the children, though, it must have been really hard for them not only losing their mother, but also being constantly reminded of this by the press.

[April madness]

it was a shock, especially the way she died. too much a price to pay for a bad decision, if it really was bad.

[Semih_Sayginer]

it was a shock, especially the way she died. too much a price to pay for a bad decision, if it really was bad.

indeed april.

its not my place to judge someones lifemaking decisions, though entiled to an opinion on them, but the british Monarchy is seen in a better light now than in recent decades beofre Diana was married to Charlie.

For this, and her good charity work (ok ok she had the time to do it) to me makes me remember her fondly (and im not a fan of the royal family).

Horrible way to die. RIP

[Monique]

I never understood why people adored her, she was nothing special

I think the poeple adored her just for that. She was somebody they could identify with, just a woman like thousands of ordinary woman ... No arrogance, no more or less expressed contempt for the "vulgum pecus".
She may have taken a bad decision, and so may have Charles also. This not for us to judge as we do know nothing actually from their relationship, their hopes, their sorrows, the pressions ...
Whatever she did, or whoever she was, she died too early and abruptly, leaving two young boys.
RIP

[MrRottweiler]

I think Tony Blair handled the aftermath of her death very well considering he had only been in office for a few months.

It was very sad when she died because she had so much more to give. She gave hope to people from all corners of the earth. When she could have been relaxing in her large landscaped gardens she was in foreign regions often hostile territory working tirelessy for charity. The day of her funeral involved the hearse travelling through Northampton to Althorp to her final resting place and I worked at the roadside as a steward team leader on the day. I reported to the sectional police officer and basically made sure my team of about 10 stewards were ready for the 'big push' when the hearse drove past. Prince Charles caused upset by choosing for him and the princes to travel to Althorop by train instead of with the herse which was regarded by many as a very insensitive snub. As the hearse drove past I recall all the photographers acting like wild animals trying to barge forward in to the road and some were very rude to me in my efforts to keep them back. Many mourners were throwing flowers directly at the herse windscreen causing the driver to use the window wipers so he could see and causing him to slow right down!

I was proud to have had some involvement on the day but of course I wish it had never happened. Princess Diana was a philanthropist in the truest sense of the word and the circumstances surrounding her death are tragic.

[Semih_Sayginer]

very well said Rottsy !

[PaulTheSoave]

Its one of those deaths surrounded by mystery. Like the murder of JF Kennedy.

[Ekphantos]

It is interesting to see that the comments here are all positive, 90% of the posts I have read in Austrian forums were negative. As I said before, she was nothing special (not meant in the sense Monique gave it, though), calling a her a philanthropist is rather a disgrace to the real ones. But then, if other people think she was special, I don't mind, I just don't understand. I really don't believe in those conspiracy theories, though, for THAT she was far too unimportant (Kennedy's death is something completely different). In the end, it is interesting to watch the public discussion and media coverage, as it tells you a lot about how mass media works in the modern age.

[Aggrolite]

The reaction after her death was laughable. People in this country are just grief seekers. Just another excuse to give them a break from there own problems i guess, but it's still pretty sad they have to resort to worshipping some rich toff just because she happened to die in a car crash and did some free charity work because she had money pumping in from elsewhere.

[April madness]

De mortuis aut bene, aut nihil: About the dead, either praise or nothing - a very common phrase, and I think very suitable. Nobody did ask her to do the charity work for another else's money as you say, but she did. Many wouldn't do even that. I am not saying she was a greatest person on the earth, but I am not entitled to judge on her too.

[Aggrolite]

De mortuis aut bene, aut nihil: About the dead, either praise or nothing - a very common phrase, and I think very suitable. Nobody did ask her to do the charity work for another else's money as you say, but she did. Many wouldn't do even that. I am not saying she was a greatest person on the earth, but I am not entitled to judge on her too.

I'm not judging her, i'm judging the people who showed up at her house leaving cards and flowers and crying hysterically, and the moronic tabloid press going crazy over it. I don't care about her or her brick stupid sons (i can comment on them right, because they're still alive?), i just find it a bit sad that people seem so set on embarrassing themselves just to feel some life feeding on other peoples grief, and the people who should greave are so set on sharing it with everyone.

That's a stupid phrase anyway.

[ADR147]

what happened to the fiat that left paint on her car, i don't want to cause trouble or start a huge arguement but just a thought, paris was totally shut down within 30 minutes (i know i was there!) and the car vanished, a normal member of the public can't make a car vanish?

[Ekphantos]

Ok, maybe I don't know enough details about the accident (all the books on conspiracy theories I have are older ), but WHY would they want to kill her?
About the phrase: De mortuis aut bene, aut nihil. I have to admit, I have never really seen the Latin version (and haven't done much Latin for years), but why would you translate it with "About the dead, either praise or nothing"? bene should be an adverb and this would then change the meaning... Anyway, I think this phrase is stupid and an easy way to avoid discussions (It just always reminds me of the book "Tante Jolesch" by Friedrich Torberg (if anybody knows it...))

[Miss_S]

Now I'm no royalist by any means. I think the whole concept is completely ridiculous and outdated.
But it's like a soap opera: You think it's really rubbish,but you just have to watch it anyway...

About Diana:
Did she make the wrong choice? I don't know, but I think she was a very young and probably quite naive girl when she met Charles, and maybe her mistake was to fall in love with the wrong man.
Charles on the other hand was not allowed to marry the woman he loved (Camilla) and had to marry the woman who was seen as "most suitable" instead.
So maybe it was the Royal family that made the biggest mistake by not trying to change the outdated rules and insisting that he marry a virgin.
I think the reason why people grieved so much for her was because she was the most popular member of the Royal family (even though she was no longer a part of the Royal family at the time of her death), and because her story was so tragic in many ways.
She was in a position where she had the opportunity to help many people and she used her opportunities well.
I think most people in her position probably wouldn't have done all the things she did, and for that a lot of people think she was very special.
It's largely because of her that charity work has become such a great part of what Royal families do (it's probably the only important work Royals do these days )

Sorry for the long post, I'll stop rambling now...