Diana of Wales. Princess Diana and Prince Charles: a royal love story
Diana, Princess of Wales would have turned 52 today. A girl named Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961. Everyone remembers what a charming princess she was. But in her biography there are facts that can greatly surprise.
1. At the moment of Diana’s birth, loud applause was heard outside the window: on a neighbor’s golf course, one of the players managed to send the ball into the far hole with one hit of a club. The family considered the applause a good omen.
Already being the Princess of Wales, she captivated the Americans by tap dancing with John Travolta at a reception.
2. Diana’s parents raised their children in the strict traditions of the aristocracy: no kisses, no parental hugs, no words of encouragement, always a cold distance between parents and children.
3. Parents divorced when Diana was 7 years old. At that time, divorces were rare; society condemned them much more than it does now.
4. Diana loved dancing: during her school years, she won a competition among tap dancers and dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but her height (178 cm) prevented her from doing so. Already being the Princess of Wales, she captivated the Americans by tap dancing with John Travolta at a reception.
5. Before becoming romantically involved with Diana, Prince Charles dated her family older sister, Sarah Spencer.
6. Having moved to London after she came of age, Diana worked as a nanny, a kindergarten teacher, and did not hesitate to earn extra money as a cleaner for her friends. Her rate per hour of work did not exceed £1.
7. Diana’s aristocratic roots are more “weighty” than those of the ruling royal family: she is a sixth-generation descendant of the English Queen Mary Stuart, and among her many crowned ancestors is even Prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev (Red Sun).
Kate Middleton, following the example of Diana, also crossed out the promise to obey her husband from her wedding vow.
8. The “fairytale wedding”, “Wedding of the century” - an event that, according to official figures, was watched by 750 million people in the world - did not pass without ominous signs: Diana, pronouncing an oath to her husband, mistakenly named him after her future father-in-law, and Charles instead of the standard phrase “I swear to share with you everything that belongs to me,” he said: “I promise to share everything that belongs to you.”
9. With the tacit consent of the royal family and the organizers of the ceremony, the words about unquestioning obedience to the husband, at the request of Diana, were removed from the bride's vow. Subsequently, Kate Middleton, following the example of Diana, also crossed out the promise to obey her husband from her wedding vow.
10. The title of “people's princess” was “assigned” to Diana by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although he was also the first to call her a “skillful manipulator” when he spoke about the skill with which Diana “twirled” the media, easily coming up with information leads to appear on the screen or on the cover of a magazine (Newsweek - 7 times, Time - 8 times, People - 50 once).
11. It’s hard to believe, but for all her grace and fragility, Diana had a “male” foot size: 42.5 cm. Breast size - 3. When she got married, her clothing size was almost a child’s, 38-40 Russian. Hips - one size smaller than shoulders (triangle, sporty figure).
12. Diana had sharp mood swings: the servants repeatedly said that the princess could both give gifts to the staff and reprimand them to the fullest extent for the slightest offense, or even for nothing, depending on her mood.
She was so unhappy that she made two suicide attempts.
13. Prince William owes his name to Diana: if not for her unbending persistence in choosing a name, his father, Prince Charles, would have named his first-born Arthur.
14. Diana said in an interview that she was so unhappy that she made two suicide attempts, one of them while already pregnant with Prince William.
15. Diana was jealous: one of her lovers could not stand the constant “testing” phone calls and left her after the three hundredth.
16. As the former butler of the royal couple, Paul Burrell, said in the Royal Court of London, Diana seriously considered the possibility of converting to Islam and moving to Pakistan, to the heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, whom she met and whom she was going to marry.
17. Diana had a passion for blouses white: the 10-meter-long wardrobe was filled with three hundred snow-white blouses, each of which Diana bought herself.
Twenty years ago, on August 31, 1997, a car accident occurred in a tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment, in which Diana Frances Spencer died. Princess Diana was not only a favorite of the public, but also public figure and a philanthropist. With the participation of Dina, hundreds were created charitable foundations V different countries. Diana supported organizations that helped people with AIDS, the Royal Mardsen Foundation, the Leprosy Mission, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Centerpoint Homeless Centre, the English National Ballet and many others.
Many of Diana's trips around the world were associated with visiting homeless people, refugees, people with disabilities, with HIV. In the second half of the 1990s, Princess Diana was active in efforts to ban anti-personnel landmines. To convince governments to abandon this type of weapon, Diana traveled to many countries, from Angola to Bosnia, visiting hospitals and mobile hospitals to see with her own eyes the consequences of using high-explosive mines.
"Philanthropist" recalls Princess Diana's major charitable projects, including her visit to Russia in 1995.
Attitude towards patients with HIV
In April 1987, Princess Diana was invited to Middlesex Hospital to open the UK's first AIDS ward. At that time there was a lot of speculation about AIDS and a lot of fear. Princess Diana wanted to dispel this myth; in the department, she took off her gloves and shook hands with all the patients at the clinic. Photos of Princess Diana shaking hands with an HIV patient have spread all over the world. From that moment on, Diana began to deal with the problems of combating AIDS.
So, in February 1989, the princess visited New York, where she visited the Harlem Hospital for Children with AIDS. She spent an hour and a half there and most spent time communicating with children and staff. “Underneath the external shine hides a heart of real gold,” the media wrote after this visit. “She did it spontaneously, tenderly picking up a seven-year-old boy from Harlem who was dying of AIDS. How many of us millions of mothers would do this? We are assured that there is no risk of contracting the world's worst disease through hugs, but babies have wet hands and slobbery kisses. Can we honestly admit that we would not have felt the fear rather than the all-encompassing tenderness that Diana felt when she confessed: “I feel very sad when I think about how I held this little boy on hands. I still think about him."
In subsequent years, she regularly visited children with AIDS, including visits to a hospice in Toronto and a hospital for HIV orphans in Rio de Janeiro.
After Diana's death, Gavin Hart, founder of the National AIDS Trust, said: "In our opinion, Diana did more to help people with HIV than anyone else, and to this day no one is doing anything like it." .
Help for lepers
Princess Diana often went on missionary trips to countries where leprosy rates remained high. She was a patron of The Leprosy Mission, and visited hospitals in India, Nepal, and Zimbabwe. She easily communicated with patients, spent a lot of time with them and thus helped fight public opinion and myths about this disease.
“It always seemed important to me to touch lepers, to shake their hands, so I wanted to show people that these patients are the same people, that they are not outcasts. You can touch people with leprosy and not get infected,” said Diana.
Homeless and refugees
In 1992, Princess Diana became a trustee of London's Centerpoint homeless center and helped them a lot until her death. Diana took both her sons, Prince William and Harry, with her to the center. At the age of 23, Prince William continued his mother's work and became a trustee of this organization.
He told The Telegraph: “My mother showed me this side of life many years ago. This was a real revelation for me and I am very grateful to her for this.”
Love for children
Princess Diana loved children very much, loved to play and communicate with them. She was a patron of the Royal Mardsen Hospital, which had a good oncology department, and of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children. There are many photographs of Princess Diana where she talks to children, hugs or listens to them.
In an interview, she talked about working at the Royal Brompton Hospital: “I go there at least three times a week, spend several hours with the children, sometimes just holding their hands or talking. Some of them will live, some will not, but each of them needs love here and now. I want to give them this love."
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The fight to abolish anti-personnel mines
In January 1997, Princess Diana visited Angola as part of a Red Cross mission; the number of mines remaining in the land was then estimated at nine million, out of a population of 10 million people. “I read statistics that in Angola more people with amputated body parts than anywhere else in the world,” Diana recalled. “But even knowing all this, I was not prepared for what I saw.”
The princess also visited the most heavily mined city in Angola, Quito. There she walked through a recently cleared field. For safety, she put on a blue bulletproof vest and covered her face behind a special bulletproof screen.
Diana's son Prince Harry, a trustee of The HALO Trust, was also in Angola and wore a suit, in one of his speeches he called on the whole world to get rid of weapons by 2025.
ANGOLA – JANUARY 05: Diana, Princess of Wales wearing protective body armor and a visor visits a landmine minefield being cleared by the charity Halo in Huambo, Angola (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)
Ballet and theater
The princess was very fond of ballet, and after her divorce in 1995, she became even more active in helping non-profit organizations. And the only project not related to social issues was the English National Ballet. She often went to performances and took her sons, William and Harry, with her. She held fundraising balls and galas, which helped raise hundreds of pounds to support the theatre.
Princess Diana and Mother Teresa
In February 1992, Diana came to India and visited a shelter for abandoned children, a leper colony and a hospice founded by Mother Teresa in Calcutta. Inside the hospice, she saw rows of cots on which lay hundreds of sick and dying people.
Upon returning to Kensington Palace, Lady Diana wrote: “Finally, after so many years of searching, I have found my way. When I arrived at Mother Teresa’s hospice, the sisters of mercy sang a solemn hymn especially for me. It was an unforgettable spiritual experience. My spirit literally soared. The emotions were so strong that they could not help but have a huge impact on me. I only now realized that with all my heart, with all my soul I want to do this business on a global scale.”
Princess Diana in Russia
On June 15-16, 1995, Princess Diana flew to Moscow. One of her things to do in the capital was a visit to the Tushino Children's Hospital, to which the princess had previously provided charitable assistance (Diana donated medical equipment to the hospital).
“A very calm and persistent woman. She went into the trauma department, and there were children there after road and train accidents, and she saw all the wounds. Even those accompanying her fainted, but she calmly walked through the department,” recalled Viktor Shein, at that time deputy chief physician for surgery at the Tushino hospital
According to the participants of the visit, during the visit to the hospital, the princess violated the protocol of the meeting: she ignored the offices of the heads of the clinic, passing by, because she was in a hurry to the wards of small patients and the playroom. Diana persistently asked her translator to translate in detail everything that the children told her. In the playroom, the princess surprised everyone: she sat on her knees in front of the kids and started playing with them.
On June 16, 1995, at the British Embassy in Moscow, Princess Diana was awarded the International Leonardo Prize. This public award is awarded to philanthropists and people who have made personal contributions to the development of the humanitarian field.
Inspiration and support
Even after death, the name of Princess Diana continues to help.
In September 1997, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was founded using donations and proceeds from the sale of memorabilia, including Elton John's single "Candle In The Wind" dedicated to the princess. ).
In March 1998, it was announced that the foundation would provide grants of £1 million to each of the six charities officially supported by Princess Diana (English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission, National AIDS Society, Centerpoint, Children's Hospital Great Ormond Street, Royal Marsden Hospital).
Now the organization helps hospices and palliative care, homeless people and refugees, prisoners, the fund issues grants to hundreds of organizations around the world.
Since its founding in 1998, the fund has raised and distributed more than £138 million in aid and grants (2012 figures).
Currently, the work of the fund is supervised by the sons of Princess Diana - Prince William and Prince Harry.
Princess Diana always sought to instill in her sons a love of charity and a desire to help people. She took William and Harry with her when she visited patients in hospitals and the homeless. The now grown brothers actively support all the social projects that their mother helped.
Anna
Because her whole life took place with the participation of photographers. Even death. It happened that she was a princess.
Tanto
For some reason, all of Diana’s good deeds took place with the participation of photographers. True charity is not public.
Diana, Princess of Wales, nee lady Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk.
She was born into the famous, well-born family of Johnny Spencer and Frances Ruth Burke Roche. Diana's family was very glorious on both sides. Father is Viscount Althorp, a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough and Winston Churchill. Her paternal ancestors were of royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. The Earls Spencer have long lived in the very center of London, in Spencer House. “This ancient and noble blood happily combined pride and honor, mercy and dignity, a sense of duty and the need to follow one’s own path. Always and everywhere. To have in the chest a small heart and the spirit of a king, intertwining in it tightly, inextricably: femininity and lion’s courage, wisdom and composure..." - this is what the biographer wrote about them.
But despite all the innate nobility of the Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, their marriage cracked, and they were unable to save the family - even the birth of the desired heir to the earldom, Diana’s younger brother, Charles Spencer, did not save the situation. By the time Charles turned five (Diana was then just over six years old), their mother could no longer live with her father, and the Spencers performed a shameful and rare “procedure” at that time - they divorced. Her mother moved to London and began a whirlwind romance with American businessman Peter Shand-Kyd, who left his family and three children for her sake. In 1969 they got married. 
1963 Two-year-old Diana relaxes in a chair in her home. 
1964 Three-year-old Diana walks around her house with a stroller. 
1965
Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary education at home. Her teacher was governess Gertrude Allen, who also taught Diana's mother. Lady Diana, already an adult, recalled with bitterness that her mother did not really care about the care of her children. The princess said: “The parents were busy settling scores. I often saw my mother crying, and my dad didn’t even try to explain anything to us. We didn't dare ask questions. The nannies replaced one another. Everything seemed so unsteady..."
Later, relatives would say that parting with her mother was a huge stress for Diana. But the little girl withstood this situation with truly royal calm and childish fortitude, moreover, it was she who most helped her little brother recover from this blow.
1967 Diana plays with her younger brother Charles near their house.
Viscount Spencer, as far as possible, tried to mitigate the consequences of the loss and in every possible way entertained the depressed, confused, and shocked children: he organized children's parties and balls, invited dancing and singing teachers, and personally selected the best nannies and servants. But this still did not completely save the kids from mental trauma.
1970 A little athlete on holiday in Itchenor, West Sussex. 
1970 Diana with her sisters, father and brother.
After the parents divorce, the children remain to live with their father. Soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked the children. Diana began to do worse at school and ultimately did not graduate. The only activity she loved was dancing. Diana's education continued in Sealfield, in private school near King's Line, then at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School. At the age of twelve she was accepted into the exclusive girls' school at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. 
She became "Lady Diana" (a courtesy title for daughters of high peers) in 1975, after the death of her grandfather, when her father inherited the earldom and became the 8th Earl Spencer. During this period, the family moved to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorp House in Notthrogtonshire.
After graduating from youth school in West Heth, Diana lived in Switzerland. Her father sent her to learn how to conduct household, cooking, sewing, and also French and other skills of a well-bred girl. Dee, apparently, did not like the learning process very much, she was exhausted from boredom, besides, she did not like French and wanted to become independent as quickly as possible.
Diana in Scotland.
In the winter of 1977, shortly before leaving to study in Switzerland, sixteen-year-old Lady Diana meets Prince Charles for the first time when he comes to Althorp on a hunting trip. At that time, the impeccably brought up, intelligent Charles seemed to the girl only “very funny.”
Since Diana sought independence, Charles Spencer Sr. provided her with this opportunity. When she came of age, her father gave the future princess an apartment in London. Diana did not show aristocratic stiffness and willingly and confidently began her independent, adult life. She worked part-time as a kindergarten teacher and babysat children at home. Interestingly, the hourly rate of the future princess was only one pound.
Diana as a nanny, a year before she marries Prince Charles.
At this time, the heir to the English throne was courting Diana's older sister, Sarah Spencer. Diana simply idolized Lady Sarah Spencer - charming, witty, proud, although a little harsh in her manners and behavior. Therefore, she was glad to see how the relationship of the eldest of the Spurser sisters with such a eligible bachelor. Charles at that time was passionate about his studies, reserved, and cold, but his high status aroused an exaggerated interest in girls. Among the contenders for the prince's heart was even the granddaughter of the legendary Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Lady Charlotte. And yet, he clearly singled out the Spencer house for himself.
Cheerful Diana, who knew why she came to their house future king Great Britain, during meetings she joyfully smiled at the guest and muttered something embarrassed in French - she really loved her sister and wished her happiness. Having showered Sarah with attention, Charles was also very kind to Diana; he liked the girl, but nothing special came of it. In November 1979, Diana was invited to the royal hunt. She was to spend the weekend at Earl Spencer's estate with her family and Prince Charles. Athletic, graceful, Diana rode her horse like an Amazon, and during the fox hunt, despite her simple outfit and modest behavior, she was irresistible.
It was then that the Prince of Wales first realized that Diana was an incredibly “charming, lively and witty girl who was interesting to be with.” Sarah Spencer later said that she played “the role of Cupid” at this meeting. Charles spoke for a long time with Dee for the first time and could not help but admit that she was simply lovely. However, at that moment that was all over. 
In the summer, in July 1980, Diana learned that Prince Charles had suffered a great misfortune: his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, whom the prince considered one of his closest people, his best adviser and confidant, had died. As Diana later recalled, “I saw the prince sitting alone in a haystack, thoughtful; she turned off the path, sat down next to him and simply said that she saw him in the church at the funeral service. He seemed so lost, with an incredibly sad look... This is unfair,” I thought then, “He is so lonely, someone should be there at this moment!” That evening, Charles openly and publicly showered Lady Diana Francis with the attentions befitting a prince's chosen one. Sarah Spencer was completely forgotten. 
At the time Charles “found” Diana, the prince was 33 years old. He was the most eligible bachelor in Great Britain and was considered an incredible womanizer, a conqueror of girls, although this title should rather be attributed to his title. In particular, since 1972, Charles had an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, his wife army officer Andrew Parker-Bowles, by the way, is a good “friend” of some members of the royal family. However, Camilla was in no way suitable for the role of the future queen, and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip racked their brains a lot about how to “slip” a better candidate for their son. But then Diana appeared and, in general, saved the situation. They say that Prince Philip himself proposed that Charles marry Diana. She was well-born, young, healthy, beautiful and well-mannered. What else is needed for a good royal marriage?
In the fall of 1980, rumors first circulated about her affair with the Prince of Wales. It all started when a reporter specializing in covering the private life of the royal family photographed Prince Charles walking along the shallows of the River Dee at Balmoral in the company of a young, shy girl. The attention of the world press instantly turned to this unknown person, whom everyone would soon begin to call nothing more than “timid Dee.” Diana suddenly felt that she was plunging into some kind of new life, which was previously completely unfamiliar to her. From now on, as soon as she left the apartment, numerous cameras began to click around her. And even the little red car was always followed by paparazzi wherever she went. 
Prince Charles formally proposed to Lady Diana on February 6, 1981, after returning from a three-month naval cruise on the ship Invincible, which he was supposed to oversee as the future king. The couple met for a romantic candlelit dinner at Buckingham Palace. After dinner, Charles finally asked the girl the most important question, and Diana gave the most important answer.
Future princess under an umbrella, 1981.
Soon all rumors and speculation were put to an end. On February 24, the engagement of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer was officially announced. The wedding was scheduled for July 29 and was to take place at St. Paul's Cathedral. The whole of Great Britain was excited by the news: it lifted the spirit of the nation during a period of rather gloomy economic recession. Apparently, the timing for the wedding was very opportune.
Romantic moments from the life of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Meanwhile, across the UK, preparations for the “wedding of the century” were in full swing.
It was Diana's idea to sew a romantic wedding dress in the Victorian style, chastely closed, with lots of frills and flounces. She entrusts such a responsible task to little-known designers David and Elizabeth Emmanuel and does not lose. The dress becomes legendary. 
On July 29, 1981, young Diana Spencer, in a chic wedding dress with an almost eight-meter white silk train, walked to the altar of St. Cathedral. Paul to become one of the members of the British royal family. Seven hundred and fifty million viewers around the world were glued to their television screens as one of the most beautiful women Europe with one of the richest grooms in Europe. As the Archbishop of Canterbury put it in his speech, “It is in such magical moments that fairy tales are born.” This day, as journalists rightly noted, began a new page in the history of the Windsor family and the whole of Great Britain. 
The wedding was fabulous. And not only because it was the most expensive event of its kind (costs were estimated at 2,859 million pounds sterling). Just a groom - a real prince, and the bride is fabulously beautiful and charming. 
Now they will take oaths of allegiance to each other. Moreover, Diana, who had barely turned 20, without flinching, contrary to tradition, crossed out the promise to obey her husband from the text of her oath. Therefore, later journalists will call their marriage “Marriage of equals” 
After the wedding, the girlfriends received a souvenir from Diana. For each, a rose from the bride's luxurious bouquet was prepared in plastic.
Honeymoon in Scotland at Balmoral on the River Dee.
The first official trip of Prince Charles and his young wife around the country began with their titular possessions - Wales. In just three days, the prince and princess held eighteen meetings! On the first day, their route included Caernarfon Castle, where Prince Charles, twelve years ago, was solemnly given the title Prince of Wales. On the third day of her trip to Wales, Diana received the title of "Freedom of the City of Cardiff". In gratitude for the honor, she made her first public speech, part of which was in the Welsh dialect.
Diana said that she was proud to be the princess of such a wonderful country. Diana later admitted what fear and embarrassment she experienced before this visit and her first public speaking, but it was this trip that became Diana’s real triumph and served as a kind of springboard into the future. 
Princess Diana dozed off at an event at the Albert and Victoria Museum in 1981. The next day, her pregnancy was officially announced. 
On July 21, 1982, at half past five in the morning, Prince William of Wales was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Padington. 
Diana and Charles with their son Prince William. The child was baptized on August 4 and given the name Arthur Philip Louis.
In February 1984, Buckingham Palace officially announced that the prince and princess were expecting their second child. The boy, who was born on September 15, 1984, was named Henry Charles Albert David. He will henceforth be known as Prince Harry. 
Understanding the inevitability of intrusive press attention that will be experienced young princes in the future, Charles and Diana decided to protect them from this as much as possible. The parents succeeded in this.
When it came to primary education sons, Diana opposed William and Harry being raised in the closed world of the royal house and they began to attend preschool classes and regular school. On vacation, Diana allowed her boys to wear jeans, sweatpants and T-shirts. They ate hamburgers and popcorn, went to the cinema and to the attractions, where the princes stood in a general line among their peers. She later introduced William and Harry to her charity work and often took the children with her when she went to meet hospital patients or the homeless. 
Diana was actively involved in charitable and peacekeeping activities. During her public appearances, Diana, whenever possible, stopped to talk to people and listen to them. She could talk completely freely with representatives of different social strata, parties, religious directions. With an unerring instinct, she always noticed those who most needed her attention. 
Diana used this gift, as well as her growing importance as a global figure, in her charitable work. It was this aspect of her life that gradually became her true calling. Diana personally participated in the transfer of donations - to the AIDS Foundation, the Royal Mardsen Foundation, the Leprosy Mission, the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Centropoint, and the English National Ballet. Her latest mission was to rid the world of landmines. Diana traveled to many countries, from Angola to Bosnia, to see firsthand the monstrous consequences of the use of this terrible weapon. 
In the early 90s, a blank wall of misunderstanding grew between the most famous spouses in the world. In 1992, the tension in their relationship reached its climax, Diana began to suffer from depression and bouts of bulimia (painful hunger). Soon, Prime Minister John Major announced the decision of the Prince and Princess of Wales to separate and lead separate lives. There was no talk of divorce at that time, but the following year the first of those sensational interviews that shocked the British took place - then Prince Charles admitted to host Jonathan Dimbleby that he had been unfaithful to Diana.
In December 1995, Diana appeared on the BBC's Panorama, a popular show watched by several million viewers. She said that Camilla Parker-Bowles appeared in the prince’s life even before their marriage, and continued to be “invisibly present” (or even quite visibly!) throughout it. “There were always three of us in that marriage,” Diana said. - It's too much". The marriage of Charles and Diana ended in divorce on August 28, 1996, at the initiative of Queen Elizabeth II.
Despite this, interest in Diana did not decrease at all; on the contrary, the public showed more and more attention to the proud Lady Di. Reporters continued to seek insight into the princess's personal life, especially after her romantic relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed, the forty-one-year-old son of Arab millionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, the owner of fashionable hotels, became public in the summer of 1997. In July, they spent the holidays in Saint-Tropez with Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry. The boys got along well with the friendly owner of the house. 
Later, Diana and Dodi met in London, and then went on a cruise around Mediterranean Sea on board the luxury yacht Jonikal. 
Towards the end of August the Jonical approached Portofino in Italy and then sailed for Sardinia. On August 30, Saturday, the couple in love went to Paris. The next day Diana was to fly to London to meet her sons on their last day. summer holidays.
On Saturday evening, Diana and Dodi decided to have dinner at the restaurant of the Ritz Hotel, which Dodi owned. In order not to attract the attention of other visitors, they retired to a separate office, where, as was later reported, they exchanged gifts: Diana gave Dodi cufflinks, and he gave her a diamond ring. At one o'clock in the morning they prepared to go to Dodi's apartment on the Champs-Elysees. Wanting to avoid the paparazzi crowding the front entrance, they left the hotel through the service exit. There they got into a Mercedes S-280, accompanied by bodyguard Trevor-Reese Jones and driver Henri Paul.
Last photo.
The night before the fatal accident, Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed were filmed on camera at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 31, 1997.
The accident occurred in Paris on August 31, 1997 in a tunnel located near the Pont Alma. The black Mercedes-Benz S280 crashed into a column dividing oncoming lanes, then hit the tunnel wall, flew several meters and stopped. 
The injuries suffered by Princess Diana, Dodi al-Fayed and the bodyguard were fatal. True, Diana managed to be taken alive to the Pite Salpêtrière hospital, but all attempts to save her life were in vain. She was only 36 years old.
While doctors fought for the life of the favorite of millions of Englishmen, criminologists worked to clarify the circumstances of the accident.
The following versions of the reasons for her death gradually emerged:
. the death of the Princess of Wales as a result of a road traffic accident is nothing more than an ordinary car accident, a tragic accident;
Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes, is to blame for everything - an examination showed that he was heavily intoxicated while driving;
The car accident was provoked by annoying paparazzi who were literally on the heels of Diana’s car;
The British royal family was involved in the death of the princess, who never forgave Diana for her divorce from Prince Charles;
The car lost control due to a malfunction of the brake system;
. The Mercedes at high speed collided with another car - a white Fiat, after which Diana's driver was unable to control the car;
The English secret services had a hand in the death of the princess, who intended to disrupt the marriage of the mother of the future British king to a Muslim.
Which version is the most plausible and closest to the truth? French experts were supposed to answer this question.
A commission created at the Institute of Criminal Research of the French Gendarmerie worked out all versions of what happened. As a result, several paparazzi were brought to justice. True, no one took it upon themselves to accuse them of provoking the death of Princess Diana. The charges related mainly to violations of journalistic ethics and failure to provide timely assistance to victims. Indeed, photographers first of all sought to capture the dying Diana and only then tried to do anything to save her. The assumption that the Mercedes brake system was faulty was also not confirmed.
Experts, who carefully examined what was left of the car for several months, came to the conclusion that at the time of the disaster the car’s brakes were in working order. The investigation team also refuted claims that a drunk driver was to blame. Of course, Paul Henri's drunken state played a role in what happened. However, not only (and not so much) this led to tragedy. During the investigation, it turned out that before crashing into the 13th column of the tunnel, Diana’s car collided with a white Fiat Uno. According to the testimony of one of the witnesses, the latter was driven by a brown-haired man in his forties, who fled the scene of the crime. After this collision, the Mercedes lost control, and then what happened was what was already described above.
The French police literally shook up all the owners of white Unos, but they never found the car they needed. In 2004, the results of the investigation by the commission of the Institute of Criminal Research of the French Gendarmerie were transferred to “more competent authorities”, which, apparently, were supposed to decide whether enough facts had been collected and research had been conducted to justifiably close the case. At the same time, the search for the mythical “Fiat” continues. Law enforcement France still hopes that the driver of the mysterious car will show up and provide details of the collision, which became the prologue to the tragic accident. In the Parisian prefecture they even opened a special entrance for him. But so far no one has responded to the police call.
If the collision of the Mercedes with the Fiat really took place, and the mysterious driver exists, then he is unlikely to voluntarily take full responsibility for what happened, as well as the full brunt of the anger of those who still remember Diana and sincerely mourn her death. her. It is unknown when the investigation into the circumstances of the death of the “People’s Princess” will be completed. But whenever this happens, in England, and in many other countries, the life and death of Lady Di will be discussed for a long time. Moreover, regardless of what the final conclusion of the mentioned “competent authorities” will be.
Probability of murder
The father of Diana's lover, billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed, is sure that the British intelligence services were involved in the death of Diana and his son. It was he who insisted on a state investigation into the car accident, which lasted from 2002 to 2008. According to al-Fayed Sr., the driver Henri Paul was sober during the fatal trip. “There are recordings from video cameras of the Ritz Hotel, where Henri Paul’s gait is normal,” he says, “although, in theory, he should have just been crawling. Doctors found a wild amount of an antidepressant in his body. Most likely, this man was poisoned. In addition "In addition, I have documents that he worked for the British intelligence services. Later they found his secret bank accounts, to which 200 thousand dollars were transferred. The origin of this money is unclear."
And Mohammed, contrary to official reports about the results of the study, claims that Diana died while pregnant:
“At first the authorities refused to do the test, and when they did it under pressure, many years passed. During this time, traces can simply be lost. But on the eve of the tragedy, Dodi and Diana visited the villa in Paris that I bought for them. They chose a room there for their child, overlooking the garden.”
Paul Burrell, Diana's former butler, also agrees with the version of a conspiracy against Diana and Dodi with the participation of the intelligence services and the royal court. He has a letter from Lady Di in which she wrote 10 months before her death: “My life is in danger. The ex-husband plans to organize an accident. My car's brakes will fail and there will be a car accident."
“Her death was brilliantly orchestrated,” says Burrell, “in trademark English style. Our intelligence always “removed” people not with the help of poison or a sniper, but in such a way that it looked like an accident.”
A similar opinion is shared by intelligence officers themselves, for example, the notorious former officer of the British counterintelligence service MI6, Richard Tomlison. He was arrested twice for disclosing state secrets in his books about British intelligence, left Britain and now lives in France. Tomlison openly stated that Diana was killed by MI6 agents in a “mirror” “accidental car accident” plan that was prepared for Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic 15 years ago.
The only survivor of the car accident in Paris is Dodie and Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones. He, unlike the driver and passengers, survived because he was wearing a seat belt. The crushed bones in his body are held together with 150 titanium plates, and he has undergone ten surgeries.
Here is his opinion about the situation before the disaster:
“Henri Paul was not drunk that evening. He did not smell of alcohol, he communicated and walked normally. I didn't drink anything at the table. I don’t know where alcohol ended up in his blood after his death. Unfortunately, I cannot explain why I was buckled up in the car, but Diana and Dodi were not. I am brain damaged and suffer from partial memory loss. My memories end at the moment when we left the Ritz Hotel.”
Parting
She flew to Paris to pick up Princess Diana's body ex-husband, Prince Charles. Butler Paul Burrell brought clothes and asked that the rosary given to her by Mother Teresa be placed in the princess's hands.
In London, the oak coffin containing the princess's body stood in the Royal Chapel of St. James's Palace for four nights. People from all over the world gathered at the walls of the palace. They lit candles and laid flowers. 
The farewell ceremony for Princess Diana took place at Westminster Abbey. 
Princess Diana was buried on September 6 at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire, on a secluded island in the middle of a lake.
Diana was one of the most popular women of her time in the world. In Great Britain, she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family; she was called the “Queen of Hearts” or the “Queen of Hearts.”
High, high in the heavens, the stars sing her name: “Diana.” 
On July 1, Diana would have turned 55 years old. The famous princess, with her open demeanor, became a breath of fresh air in the royal palace.
When she married Prince Charles in St. Paul's Cathedral, the wedding ceremony (according to Wikipedia) was watched by 750 million viewers around the world. Diana was in the center of public attention throughout her life. Everything connected with her, from clothes to hairstyle, immediately became an international trend. And even after almost two decades since her tragic death, public interest in the personality of the Princess of Wales does not fade. In memory of the universally beloved princess, we present twenty-six little known facts about her life.
1. Studying at school
Diana was not good at science, and after she failed two exams at West Heath Girls' School at the age of 16, her education ended. Her father intended to send her to study in Sweden, but she insisted on returning home.
2. Meeting Charles and getting engaged
Prince Charles and Diana met when he was dating Sarah, Diana's older sister. Sarah and Charles' relationship came to a standstill after she publicly announced that she did not love the prince. Diana, on the other hand, really liked Charles and even hung his photograph above her bed at boarding school. “I want to become a dancer or the Princess of Wales,” she once admitted to her classmate.
Diana was just 16 when she first saw Charles (who was then 28) hunting in Norfolk. According to the recollections of her former music teacher, Diana was very excited and could not talk about anything else: “Finally, I met him!” Two years later, their engagement was officially announced, when Sarah proudly declared: “I introduced them, I am Cupid.”
After finishing school and until the official announcement of her engagement, the young aristocrat worked first as a nanny and then as a kindergarten teacher in Knightsbridge, one of the most prestigious areas of London.
4. An Englishwoman among royal wives
As surprising as it may sound, over the past 300 years, Lady Diana Frances Spencer was the first Englishwoman to become the wife of an heir British throne. Before her, the wives of English kings were mainly representatives of German royal dynasties, there was also a Danish woman (Alexandra of Denmark, wife of Edward VII), and even the Queen Mother, wife of George VI and grandmother of Charles, was Scottish.
Wedding Dress Princess Diana's wedding was decorated with 10,000 pearls and ended with an 8-meter train - the longest in the history of royal weddings. To support the English fashion industry, Diana turned to young designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, whom she accidentally met through Vogue editor. “We knew that the dress had to go down in history and at the same time please Diana. The ceremony was at St. Paul's Cathedral, so we needed something that would fill the center aisle and look impressive." For five months, the windows of the Emanuel boutique in central London were tightly closed with blinds, and the boutique itself was carefully guarded so that no one could see the silk taffeta creation ahead of time. On the wedding day it was delivered in a sealed envelope. But, just in case, a spare dress was sewn. “We didn’t try it on Diana, we didn’t even discuss it,” Elizabeth admitted in 2011, when the second dress became known.
6. "Commoner's Sapphire"
Diana chose a sapphire ring from the Garrard catalog for her engagement, instead of ordering one, as was customary in the royal environment. The 12-carat sapphire, surrounded by 14 diamonds in white gold, was called the “commoner's sapphire” because, despite the price of $60,000, anyone could buy it. “Many people wanted to have a ring like Diana’s,” a Cartier representative said in an interview The New York Times. Since then, the "commoner's sapphire" has become associated with Princess Diana. After her death, Prince Harry inherited the ring, but gave it to Prince William before his engagement to Kate Middleton in 2010. William is rumored to have taken the sapphire from the royal safe and carried it in his backpack during a three-week trip to Africa before giving it to Kate. The ring is now valued at ten times its original cost.
7. Oath at the altar
For the first time in history, Diana arbitrarily changed the words of her wedding vow, deliberately omitting the phrase “obey her husband.” Thirty years later, William and Kate repeated this vow.
8. Favorite dish
Diana's personal chef Darren McGrady recalls that one of her favorite foods was cream pudding, and when he was making it, she would often go into the kitchen and remove the raisins from the top. Diana liked stuffed peppers and eggplant; When dining alone, she preferred lean meat, a large bowl of salad and yogurt for dessert.
Some biographers claim that Diana's favorite color was pink, and she often wore dresses in various shades, from pale pink to deep crimson.
10. Favorite perfume
Her favorite perfume after the divorce was the French perfume 24 Faubourg from Hermès - a delicate solemn aroma with a bouquet of jasmine and gardenia, iris and vanilla, giving off peach, bergamot, sandalwood and patchouli.
Diana herself chose the names for her children and insisted that the eldest son be named William, despite the fact that Charles chose the name Arthur, and the youngest - Henry (that's how he was baptized, although everyone calls him Harry), while his father wanted name your son Albert. Diana breastfed her children, although this is not customary in the royal family. Diana and Charles were the first royal parents who, contrary to established tradition, traveled with their young children. During their six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, they took nine-month-old William with them. Royal biographer Christopher Warwick claims that William and Harry were very happy with Diana, as her approach to raising children was radically different from that adopted at court.
12. William – the first prince to attend kindergarten
Preschool education Royal children were traditionally taught by private teachers and governesses. Princess Diana changed this order, insisting that Prince William be sent to a regular kindergarten. Thus, he became the first heir to the throne to attend a preschool outside the palace. And although Diana, who was extremely attached to her children, considered it important, if possible, to create ordinary conditions for their upbringing, there were exceptions. One day for lunch at Buckingham Palace she invited Cindy Crawford because 13-year-old Prince William was crazy about the model. “It was a little awkward, he was still very young, and I didn’t want to look too confident, but at the same time I had to be stylish so that the child felt that he was a supermodel,” Cindy later admitted.
13. The usual childhood of the heirs to the throne
Diana tried to show her children the diversity of life outside the palace. They ate hamburgers together at McDonald's, rode the subway and bus, wore jeans and baseball caps, and went down the river in inflatable boats. mountain rivers and rode bicycles. At Disneyland, like ordinary visitors, we stood in line for tickets.
Diana showed children another side of life when she took them with her to hospitals and homeless shelters. “She really wanted to show us all the hardships ordinary life, and I am very grateful to her, it was a good lesson, it was then that I realized how far many of us are from real life, especially myself,” William told ABC News in 2012.
14. Not a royal demeanor
Diana preferred round tables large royal banquets, so she could communicate more closely with her guests. However, if she was alone, she often ate lunch in the kitchen, which is completely uncharacteristic for royalty. “No one else did it like that,” her personal chef Darren McGrady admitted in 2014. Elizabeth II visited the kitchen of Buckingham Palace once a year, for her ceremonial tour everything had to be cleaned to a shine, and the chefs lined up to greet the queen. If anyone else from the royal family entered the kitchen, everyone had to immediately stop working, put the pots and pans on the stove, take three steps back and bow. Diana was simpler. “Darren, I want coffee. Oh, you're busy, then I'll do it myself. Should I do it? True, she didn’t like to cook, and why would she? McGrady cooked for her all week and stocked the refrigerator on the weekends so she could microwave meals.
15. Diana and fashion
When Diana first met Charles, she was very shy and blushed easily and often. But gradually she gained self-confidence, and in 1994 a photograph of her in a tight, low-cut minidress at an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery blew up the covers of the world's tabloids, because this little black dress was a clear violation of the royal dress code.
16. Lady Di is against formalities
When Diana talked to children, she always crouched down to be eye level with them (her son and daughter-in-law now do the same). “Diana was the first royal to communicate with children in this way,” says Majesty magazine editor Ingrid Seward. "Usually the royal family considered themselves superior to the rest, but Diana said: 'If someone is nervous in your presence, or if you are talking to a small child or a sick person, get down to their level.'
17. Change in the queen's attitude towards her daughter-in-law
The bright, emotional Diana caused a lot of trouble in the royal court; her manner in public was completely inconsistent with how members of the royal family usually behaved. This irritated the queen more than once. But today, having crossed the threshold of her ninetieth birthday, looking at how people perceive her wonderful grandchildren, Diana’s sons William and Harry, Elizabeth is forced to admit that they see Diana in them, her sincerity and love of life. Unlike their father and other members of the royal family, William and Harry always attract everyone's attention and are very popular. “It’s probably all thanks to Diana in the end,” the queen says with a smile.
18. Diana's role in the approach to the problem of AIDS
When Diana told the Queen she wanted to take on AIDS and asked her to help fund research into a vaccine, Elizabeth encouraged her to do something more appropriate. It must be admitted that in the mid-80s, when this conversation took place, they tried to hush up the AIDS problem and not notice it; those infected were often treated as if they had the plague. However, Diana did not give up, and largely due to the fact that she was one of the first to draw attention to the problem of AIDS, publicly shaking hands with HIV-infected people and calling for funding for research, attitudes towards AIDS in society changed, drugs appeared that allow patients to manage relatively normal life.
19. Fear of horses
In all aristocratic families of England, and especially in the royal family, horseback riding is not only very popular, but also mandatory. The ability to stay in the saddle is taught from an early age, and this is part of the rules of good manners even for the most impoverished baronets. Lady Diana was naturally properly trained to ride, but she was such a clumsy rider and so afraid of horses that even the Queen had to back off and stop taking her on horseback riding trips to Sudnringham.
20. “Advanced training courses” for a young aristocrat
Despite the nobility of the Spencer family, to which Diana belonged, when she married Charles, she was still too young and inexperienced in palace protocol. Therefore, Elizabeth asked her sister, Princess Margaret, Diana's neighbor Kensington Palace, take your daughter-in-law under your wing. Margaret was enthusiastic about this request. She saw herself in her youth in the young creature and enjoyed communication, sharing with Diana a love of theater and ballet. Margaret told who to shake hands with and what to say. They got along well, although at times the mentor could be quite harsh with her protégé. Once Diana addressed the driver by his first name, although strict royal protocol involves addressing servants exclusively by their last name. Margaret slapped her on the wrist and made a stern reprimand. And yet, their warm relationship lasted quite a long time and changed dramatically only after the official break with Charles, when Margaret unconditionally took her nephew’s side.
21. Deliberate violation of royal protocol
To celebrate the Queen's 67th birthday, Diana arrived at Windsor Castle with William and Harry, carrying balloons and paper crowns. Everything would be fine, but Elizabeth can’t stand either one or the other, and after 12 years of close communication, Diana should have known about it. However, she still decorated the hall with balloons and distributed paper crowns to the guests.
22. Official break with Charles
Elizabeth tried to do everything in her power to save the marriage of Diana and Charles. This concerned, first of all, her relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, Charles' mistress. By unspoken order of the queen, Camilla was excommunicated from the court; all the servants knew that “that woman” should not cross the threshold of the palace. Obviously, this did not change anything, the relationship between Charles and Camilla continued, and the marriage with Diana was rapidly deteriorating.
Shortly after it was officially announced in December 1992 that the royal couple had separated, the princess asked for an audience with the queen. But upon arrival at Buckingham Palace, it turned out that the Queen was busy, and Diana had to wait in the lobby. When Elizabeth finally accepted her, Diana was on the verge of a breakdown and burst into tears right in front of the queen. She complained that everyone was against her. The fact is that as much as Lady Di was popular among the masses, she was just as undesirable in royal circles. After the break with Charles, the court unanimously sided with the heir, and Diana found herself isolated. Being unable to influence the family's attitude towards ex-daughter-in-law, the queen could only promise that the divorce would not affect the status of William and Harry.
23. Diana and the Taj Mahal
During an official visit to India in 1992, when the royal couple were still considered a married couple, Diana was photographed sitting alone near the Taj Mahal, that majestic monument to the love of husband and wife. It was a visual message that, while officially together, Diana and Charles were actually separated.
24. Divorce
Despite all the queen's attempts to reconcile her son and daughter-in-law, including her invitation to Diana to an official reception in honor of the President of Portugal at the end of 1992, or at Christmas 1993, the parties continued to speak unflatteringly and publicly accuse each other of infidelity, so there was no talk of any restoration of relations out of the question. Therefore, in the end, Elizabeth wrote letters to them asking them to consider divorce. Both knew that this was tantamount to an order. And if the princess asked for time to think in her response letter, Charles immediately asked Diana for a divorce. In the summer of 1996, a year before the tragic death of Lady Di, their marriage was dissolved.
25. “Queen of Human Hearts”
In an interview with the BBC in November 1995, Diana made several frank confessions about her postpartum depression, her broken marriage and her strained relationship with royal family. About Camilla's constant presence in her marriage, she said: “There were three of us. A bit much for marriage, isn’t it?” But her most shocking statement was that Charles did not want to be king.
Developing her thought, she suggested that she herself would never become queen, but instead expressed the possibility of becoming queen "in the hearts of people." And she confirmed this fictitious status by conducting active social work and doing charity work. In June 1997, two months before her death, Diana put up for auction 79 ball gowns, which at one time appeared on the covers of glossy magazines around the world. Thus, she seemed to break with the past, and the $5.76 million received at the auction was spent to fund research into AIDS and breast cancer.
26. Life after divorce
Experiencing a break with Charles, Diana did not withdraw into herself and did not isolate herself from society; she began to enjoy a free life. Shortly before her tragic death, she met producer Dodi Al-Fayed, the eldest son of Egyptian billionaire, owner of the Ritz Hotel in Paris and the London department store Harrods. They spent several days together near Sardinia on his yacht, and then went to Paris, where on August 31, 1997 they were involved in a fatal car accident. There is still debate over the true causes of the accident, ranging from the paparazzi chase and the driver's blood alcohol level to the mysterious white car, traces of paint from which were found on the door of the Mercedes in which Diana died. The accident was allegedly the result of a collision with this car. And it doesn’t matter that this is a mysterious car that appeared out of nowhere, disappeared into nowhere, and no one saw it. But for conspiracy theory lovers, this is not an argument. They insist that it was a murder planned by the British intelligence services. This version is supported by Dodi’s father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, citing as the basis Dodi and Diana’s plans to get married, which did not suit the royal family at all. We are unlikely to ever know how it really happened. One thing is for sure - the world has lost one of the best and brightest women of all time, who forever changed the life of the royal family and the attitude of society towards the monarchy. The memory of the “queen of hearts” will remain with us forever.
In her childhood, the life of the future Lady Diana was more like a fairy tale: Diana spent all the years before her marriage in Sendriham, the family castle of the Spencer-Fermoys. Her parents were Viscount and Viscountess Oldtrop, Edward and Francis Spencer.
But only outwardly such a childhood could be envied. When Diana was only six years old, her parents realized that they could no longer live together, which was followed by a painful and so ignoble process of divorce for the whole family. Father and mother were more occupied with their differences than with raising their children; Nannies were most often nearby. All this together was perceived by Diana, as well as her brothers and sisters, with inexpressible bitterness.
Diana’s school years began with such experiences, but later she showed herself to be an enthusiastic girl - she was involved in dancing, sports, and drawing. At age 16, Diana first met Prince Charles, who was at the time courting Sarah Spencer, her older sister.
Personal life of Lady Diana
With the onset of adulthood, Diana received an apartment in London from her father, in which she settled for adulthood. independent life. She worked part-time as a kindergarten teacher, nanny, and even as an apartment cleaner.
In November 1979, Diana was invited to go hunting with the royal family, where Prince Charles turned to her Special attention— that’s when she became his chosen one.
In February 1981, the prince proposed to Lady Diana, which, as you might guess, was accepted.
On July 29, 1981, a marriage took place, which is rightfully considered the wedding of the century: at a ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral, Lady Diana became a member of the royal family and the legal wife of Prince Charles. The marriage was happy at first; in 1982, Princess Diana gave birth, and two years later she was born.
By 1990, disagreements began in the relationship between Diana and Charles - the princess was surrounded by popular love, which Charles did not enjoy on such a scale. He, in turn, resumed his relationship with his long-time and secret love, Camilla Parker-Bowles, which in the following years led to promiscuous romances in Diana’s personal life.
Since 1992, the bonds of marriage hardly connected Diana and Charles - they officially began to live separately. A divorce followed in 1995, after which Diana did not lose the title of Princess of Wales.
After Diana's death, journalists gained access to her personal video diaries, in which Diana complains about the unbearable situation of her deceived wife. Dirty evidence of her husband’s infidelities was leaked to the press every now and then: transcripts of slippery telephone conversations, paparazzi photos. However, the prince got away with his infidelities.
All her life, Lady Diana struggled with a hereditary disease - bulimia (eating disorder), and against the backdrop of nervous experiences and stress, it was torture to restrain herself.
Activities of Princess Di
After the divorce, Diana became seriously involved in charity work, and she really managed to change the world for the better. She directed her energies to the fight against AIDS, cancer, and turned her help to children with heart defects. Her charitable activities were so multifaceted that Diana was even able to raise the issue of the use of anti-personnel mines and their dangers. Diana could respond to any request for help and often answered letters from ordinary people who told her about their troubles.
But her selfless desire to help could not change her own destiny - on August 31, 1997, together with her new lover, the son of Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed, Diana ended up in Paris, where they both got into a car accident while driving through the Alma tunnel. According to the official version, Diana's driver was unable to steer out of a sharp turn in the tunnel, escaping from being chased by paparazzi.
The princess died in the hospital. Since after the divorce Diana ceased to be part of the royal family, there was no national mourning or farewell for her.
True, the reasons were rather subjective. Prince Charles's mother, Queen Elizabeth, really disliked her daughter-in-law for her spontaneity and unwillingness to come to terms with her position in the palace when Diana filed for divorce.
However, ignoring Diana's death caused popular anger. A crowd of people wishing to bid farewell to their beloved stood guard near Buckingham Palace for several days, demanding that the flags be lowered to half-staff as a sign of the national tragedy.
