Can It Really Be Eleven Years?

It was hard enough last year to believe it had been a decade since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car accident in Paris on a hot, sticky August 1997 night. Last year we had a spectacular concert and moving memorial service to mark her 46th birthday and ten years since her death. Now, we are coming up to the eleventh anniversary of her death, and yet, strangely, somehow it only seems like yesterday.

Today, in Britain the weather is very similar to how it was the day before Diana died. And, the 31st will fall on a Sunday, the same day Diana died. It is amazing how much life changes in eleven years. How different, for instance, the monarchy is since Diana left us. So it's so hard not to think about to this time eleven years ago. And it's very sad to do so.

Quite often I wonder what we have missed out on in eleven years. What photographs we have missed, what video footage we will never see. What clothes would Diana have worn, what paths would she have taken in both her private and public life. What sort of mother would she be to two boy who have now grown into men and who are on the cusp of starting their own families and married life. How would Diana of aged physically, would she of had surgery? We'll sadly never know the answers to these questions.

What with the passing of years and the easing of grief, I fear, that though Diana will never be forgotten, her death is slowly year by year going unrecognised. Last year, being the first decade since her death was different, but it seems to be the rule and not the exception now that it barely gets a mention, outside the world of Diana fans.

Personally, I think about her death on the anniversary every year without fail. But then I think of Diana a lot on the whole. But aside from people like me, the world seems to have forgotten what happened on 31st August 1997. It's very saddening for me, but then that is life. Things move on, and they, unlike Dodi Fayed's Park Lane apartment, they also change. The world doesn't stop still when someone like Diana dies. It continues.

I would like to think that in the past eleven years, if she had survived that she would win the battles that seemed to drive her personal life. Maybe she'd of remarried, settling down with someone who really loved, cherished and protected her.

I would also like to think that she would of remained at the top of her 'profession', that being her work in the charitable field. I cannot of seen Diana being a lady who lunched. She tried that for a short while in the early 1990's and it neither made her happy or fulfilled her. I think Diana really realised that having nothing to do wasn't a option for her, as she was, friend's say, a ball of energy.

As a mother, I imagine her to be fair to her sons. She would, I feel, of allowed them to be themselves. 'Boys will be boys' she would often say to friends in reference to her sons. But, at the same time, she would of reigned them in also, showing them that yes, have fun, but they also have a serious role and a duty to serve their country.

It has been claimed in the year after their divorce, the relationship between Charles and Diana was not just cordial but friendly. Charles still sent her birthday gifts, and would often drop in to see Diana at Kensington Palace, still commenting on her nice long legs. On her desk, ready to be opened on her return to London, was a letter from Charles discussing their youngest son, Prince Harry who was struggling at school with his work. I think their friendship would of developed, not into love, but a working relationship. Diana, though, still held a torch for Charles, delighting even after their divorce, when he wore a particular sweater that she had brought for him. Maybe, they both would of mature and became two fantastic parents to two fantastic boys.

The Diana of 2008 would be a vastly different Diana to the one in 1997. But, even at the point of her death, she was maturing, morphing into a completely different woman. I feel she would of still been self absorbed, it was a characteristic of hers, but I don't think if she were alive today, she'd still be quite so at odds with herself. It is nice to think that the lessons she had learnt through life would of taught her more about herself. She was growing up, experiencing the world behind the guilt Palace gates. And it was changing her for the better, giving her a wider perspective on things.

How Diana would of reacted to the remarriage of Prince Charles to long term love Camilla Parker-Bowles would be a touchy subject as I truly believe Diana never really loved anyone else but Charles. I believe a lot of her public dating and romances were aimed at making him jealous. I think she would of been desperately hurt to see him remarry as she never really got over him at all. But, this subject is any one's guess and I'm sure many would disagree with me.

Diana would always continue to be seen as royal and I think she'd never really loose the title of Princess, even if she had remarried. She was Britain's Princess who was loved around the world. And she continues to be loved.

Many write now not gushing sentimental words, but words of criticism. Many journalists feel it's now 'safe' to tarnish the memory of Diana. Yes, she was not perfect, we know that, but it's quite astounding the rubbish that is printed about her. Paul Burrell her once loyal rock has hinted that he slept with her. People she considered friends such as guitarist Eric Clapton and George Michael both claim she wanted to be their lovers. Ten years ago this type of reporting would of not happened, and if stories had worked their way into print, would of been panned by the very papers they were published in. But, sadly, as Diana is no longer here to defend herself, it seems anything goes.


Diana herself said in her now famous Panorama interview that she wanted to be '......Queen of people's hearts'. On the day of her death the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair said she 'was the People's Princess and will always remain so'. To me, as one person, she always will be H.R.H The Princess Of Wales, the Queen of People's Hearts and The People's Princess.

She was Britain's princess, and she was my Princess. And nothing will ever change that.