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Diana's Death 10 Years Later
Aug. 31st, 2007 04:51 pmAs with Elvis, the Challenger explosion, September 11, or, for anyone 'round here who was alive then, JFK's assassination, everybody who was around August 31, 1997 remembers exactly what they were doing when they heard the news of Princess Diana's death.
At the time of her fatal accident, Diana was literally the most famous person on the planet, rivaling perhaps only the Pope. I was never a Dianaphile, but because she was the quintessential uber-celebrity, she was there as part of the popular culture. The last month of her life was a strange one, with her very much in the spotlight because of the murder of her friend Gianni Versace in July 1997 at the hands of a serial killer and because of her tabloid romance with professional playboy Dodi Al-Fayed. I traveled to Spain that August and every publication followed her every move with her new beau. In some hotels, SkyNews was the only English-language t.v. station I could watch and it was All Diana-n-Dodi, All Of The Time.
On the evening of August 30, I was in my room, sitting around and reading Star Wars Galaxy magazine (remember that one?). I think it was the Leia issue. Anyway, around 10:30-11:00, I could hear my mom calling out from another room. Something like "Jodie is dead." I went into the room and asked who the heck was Jodie. My mom meant Dodi Al-Fayed and it had just broken on CNN that Diana and a bodyguard were seriously injured in a car crash in Paris, while Al-Fayed and the driver were already dead. When specifics weren't exactly forthcoming about Diana's condition and they downgraded her condition to "grave" after about a half hour or so, I said, "I bet she's already dead. This is just like with Princess Grace. First her leg was broken, then she was in grave condition, then they said she was dead." Sure enough, at midnight CNN finally announced that Diana was declared dead.
I suppose what was shocking to the world was that somebody so famous was gone during her prime, even though the famous are particularly good at dying young. Come to think of it, my lifespan is now longer than Diana's was. But somehow we're all suckered into thinking there's a magic protective bubble around these people, especially if we happen to be their fans.
The next several days were Diana 24/7 on every channel, even beyond her funeral a week later. The outpouring of grief from people was nothing like I'd ever seen. The British Embassy in Washington, D.C. had a steady flow of visitors to sign a condolence book; even some of my friends spent hours in line to sign it.
Back in 1981, I got up at 5 a.m. to watch Diana and Charles's wedding on live t.v., and 16 years later I managed to turn on the t.v. early to catch her funeral. Like everybody else, I felt obligated to watch. The only part of the spectacle that was genuinely moving to me was a close up shot of the small bouquet of flowers from her sons sitting on top of her coffin, marked with a card that simply said, "Mummy." *Sniff.* (For you trivia buffs, Diana's funeral inspired Padmé's funeral scene in ROTS.)
In ten years' time, Diana remains as famous as ever and it doesn't hurt that her death left just enough grist for the conspiracy theory mill. People still leave flowers near the accident site Paris and visitors still line up every year to visit the site of her grave. Frankly, I've always found her brother a no-good knucklehead and despite his blustering back then, he hasn't had much to do with William or Harry. This might be a good thing. The royal family (unfairly) faced a PR disaster after Diana's death, but it's doing fine today. The princes seem to have turned out all right. Even with Harry's tabloid troubles as a teen, military training appears to have straightened him out somewhat.
The paparazzi earned an even worse reputation even though the photographers' responsibility for the accident was minimal. It was the driver who chose to get liquored up and it was apparently Dodi's idea to encourage the driver to go faster. If there's any conspiracy theory I subscribe to, it's the suspicion Dodi or somebody working for him tipped off the photographers in the first place.
Who knows how long Diana's fame will last? The Diana of the 19th century, Elisabeth "Sissi" of Bavaria, Empress of Austria-Hungary, remains a cult figure in Austria. But Sissi never had the benefit of mass media the way Diana did. We'll have to see.
At the time of her fatal accident, Diana was literally the most famous person on the planet, rivaling perhaps only the Pope. I was never a Dianaphile, but because she was the quintessential uber-celebrity, she was there as part of the popular culture. The last month of her life was a strange one, with her very much in the spotlight because of the murder of her friend Gianni Versace in July 1997 at the hands of a serial killer and because of her tabloid romance with professional playboy Dodi Al-Fayed. I traveled to Spain that August and every publication followed her every move with her new beau. In some hotels, SkyNews was the only English-language t.v. station I could watch and it was All Diana-n-Dodi, All Of The Time.
On the evening of August 30, I was in my room, sitting around and reading Star Wars Galaxy magazine (remember that one?). I think it was the Leia issue. Anyway, around 10:30-11:00, I could hear my mom calling out from another room. Something like "Jodie is dead." I went into the room and asked who the heck was Jodie. My mom meant Dodi Al-Fayed and it had just broken on CNN that Diana and a bodyguard were seriously injured in a car crash in Paris, while Al-Fayed and the driver were already dead. When specifics weren't exactly forthcoming about Diana's condition and they downgraded her condition to "grave" after about a half hour or so, I said, "I bet she's already dead. This is just like with Princess Grace. First her leg was broken, then she was in grave condition, then they said she was dead." Sure enough, at midnight CNN finally announced that Diana was declared dead.
I suppose what was shocking to the world was that somebody so famous was gone during her prime, even though the famous are particularly good at dying young. Come to think of it, my lifespan is now longer than Diana's was. But somehow we're all suckered into thinking there's a magic protective bubble around these people, especially if we happen to be their fans.
The next several days were Diana 24/7 on every channel, even beyond her funeral a week later. The outpouring of grief from people was nothing like I'd ever seen. The British Embassy in Washington, D.C. had a steady flow of visitors to sign a condolence book; even some of my friends spent hours in line to sign it.
Back in 1981, I got up at 5 a.m. to watch Diana and Charles's wedding on live t.v., and 16 years later I managed to turn on the t.v. early to catch her funeral. Like everybody else, I felt obligated to watch. The only part of the spectacle that was genuinely moving to me was a close up shot of the small bouquet of flowers from her sons sitting on top of her coffin, marked with a card that simply said, "Mummy." *Sniff.* (For you trivia buffs, Diana's funeral inspired Padmé's funeral scene in ROTS.)
In ten years' time, Diana remains as famous as ever and it doesn't hurt that her death left just enough grist for the conspiracy theory mill. People still leave flowers near the accident site Paris and visitors still line up every year to visit the site of her grave. Frankly, I've always found her brother a no-good knucklehead and despite his blustering back then, he hasn't had much to do with William or Harry. This might be a good thing. The royal family (unfairly) faced a PR disaster after Diana's death, but it's doing fine today. The princes seem to have turned out all right. Even with Harry's tabloid troubles as a teen, military training appears to have straightened him out somewhat.
The paparazzi earned an even worse reputation even though the photographers' responsibility for the accident was minimal. It was the driver who chose to get liquored up and it was apparently Dodi's idea to encourage the driver to go faster. If there's any conspiracy theory I subscribe to, it's the suspicion Dodi or somebody working for him tipped off the photographers in the first place.
Who knows how long Diana's fame will last? The Diana of the 19th century, Elisabeth "Sissi" of Bavaria, Empress of Austria-Hungary, remains a cult figure in Austria. But Sissi never had the benefit of mass media the way Diana did. We'll have to see.
