A Tribute Website Inspired by Diana, Princess of Wales
"Being a princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be."
She was married to the future King of England. She got to ride in golden carriages and money was no object. She rubbed her aristocratic elbows with movie stars, international royalty, and took endless vacations on private yachts. But in between all the tiaras and couture clothes, Diana Frances Spencer Wales cared about fighting for what was important. She fought for dignity for people with AIDS, fought to eradicate landmines, fought for her husband’s love, fought for human rights and the end of homelessness, fought bulimia, and to the end of her brief life she fought to give her beloved royal children the most normal life possible. In the words of civil rights leader John Lewis, she sought “good trouble”, and tried to make a difference. We loved her because of her imperfections and her shy smile, the way she hugged hospital patients and got down on the floor with little children. She felt real and genuine, even during her darkest moments.
It was her honesty that won us over. The way she telegraphed her feelings through clothes and posture, how she laughed and played with her two young princes while her big Prince Charmless never seemed to dismount from his polo ponies. We sympathized with her suffering when she felt unloved and unwanted, internalized it and made it our own. From the demure 19-year old to the wise, healthy 36 year old, Diana was always on the front pages. Even as her marriage crumbled, she never forgot her duty to the Crown and her love of the people.
In the early 1990’s, we worried about her. There were so many rumors, it was as if the palace had become a soap opera. Worn out from the years of Charles and his infidelities, as well as her ongoing pressures from The Firm and the paparazzi, Diana understood that the only way to get us to hear her version of the broken fairy tale was to tell it herself. She spoke her truth, and we listened. We are still listening. We eagerly read the quasi-autobiography Diana: Her Story and watched the Panorama interview because we wanted to hear her story told in her own posh voice. We continued to buy magazines and newspapers with blurry photos, not realizing the coming consequence. She never stopped being a princess, even after Charles took away the title ‘Her Royal Highness’. The suntanned goddess with the long legs and keen sense of humanitarianism didn’t need a title to be adored; this is one of the things the British monarchy hated most about her.
Her life may have ended on August 31, 1997, but as much as Charles wishes we would forget her, we will not. Even in death, she haunts him. She may never have become Queen of England, but through the insistence of the people, the Queen of Hearts was given a funeral worthy of the legacy she was leaving behind. The funeral with 60 million flowers that became still when Elizabeth II quietly nodded her head and then became even more still when 2 stunned children began walking behind her casket, but then suddenly burned red hot after the fiery speech from her brother. It was both global and intimate; it was ours and it was for her.
The People’s Princess is still alive because of the powerful collective memory of all of us, from the joyful wedding to the somber goodbye. We refuse to forget her. Her kindness and her compassion outshone the stiff Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Windors. She is called England’s Rose, but not by the monarchy. Charles likes to think that she wasn’t good enough for him, but we know the truth. He and his heavy, dilapidated crown, wasn’t good enough for her.
A Curious Collection of All Things English and About Diana’s England
