It's now been ten years since the Princess of Wales was killed in a car accident. I hardly can believe it. The whole Royal scene has changed a great deal in that time, but Diana's popularity stands as solid as stone.
When Diana arrived for her final holiday on board the Jonikal in August 1997 nobody knew how that summer would end. When pictures of her sitting alone on the Jonikal's diving board, or pictures of her snuggling with Dodi Fayed reached the front pages of newspapers such as the Mirror, I, as a Diana watcher felt uneasy at this new relationship. In fact I remember telling my mum, just days before she died that she would 'get herself into trouble with this one'. From the very first picture of Diana and Dodi together I got a uneasy feeling and it so proved correct.
I do not believe that Diana was in love with Dodi. I don't believe that she was planning to marry him or indeed, was pregnant with his child (if Diana's friends are to be believed the dates do not add up, she simply could not be pregnant). In fact, as hard as it is to admit to myself, Diana died through the age old emotion of jealousy. I believe the whole summer romance with Dodi Fayed was crafted by Diana herself to get back at the two men who she really truely loved.
In the summer of 1997 it was announced that Prince Charles would be holding a 50th birthday party for his partner, Camilla Parker-Bowles, at the old Wales marital home, Highgrove House in the countryside. I believe, as much as I admire Diana, that it was in her nature to take the media interest off the party, which was used as a base to slowly introduce Camilla into public life. And she did indeed achieve that. For the day after the party was it on the front of the papers? No. We were treated to a picture of Diana in a swimsuit, jumping into the warm mediterean sea, and her cleveage well on show, encouraging the Mirror to write a classic headline, in the form of a postcard saying 'breast wishes, from Diana'.
The second person, and I feel the more important person Diana was sending a message out to was her love of two years, Hasnat Khan. A quiet, heart surgeon, he had been seeing the Princess since 1995 and I feel she utterly loved him. But being a private man, he could not bear the thought of the public relationship and had called it off. Diana rang Hasnat from her mobile on board the Jonikal, even calling his family to reassure them that nothing was going on between her and Dodi, so sure was she that she could win Hasnat back. This however, was failing to work so I believe Dodi was a useful tool in saying 'okay, you don't want me, well this is what your missing out on'.
By saying that Diana really died through jealousy and her attempts to get back at two people is not a pleasant or popular view, but I can't help feeling it. If she was content to allow Charles and Camilla to progress their relationship publicly, and if she could of accepted that her relationship with Hasnat was over, maybe she'd still be with us today. I feel she would of made better decisions and would not of put quite so much trust in Dodi Fayed and his chaotic lifestyle.
Either way, Diana died that summer and I do still miss her, warts and all.
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