On Friday, Princess Diana's family solemnly marked the 10th anniversary of her death in a car crash in Paris. For the past 10 years the Royal family had refrained from any public remembrance of the anniversary of the princess' death. This year, however, Prince William and Prince Harry took the lead in organizing the memorial service, as well as a rock concert on Princess Diana's birthday, July 1, which drew 70,000 paying fans.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip who are to visit Malta in November, were also among the 500 people in the chapel.
Prince Edward, Prince Charles' younger brother, and his sister, Princess Anne, also were there, as were Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister John Major and Tony Blair, and representatives of 110 charities Diana supported, Associated Press (AP) reported. Sir Elton John was also at the memorial, but did not perform. His reworking of "Candle in the Wind," was significant for many at Diana's funeral ten years ago.
Prince Charles current wife, Camilla, whom Diana blamed for breaking up her marriage, decided to stay home. That decision followed quickly after the Mail on Sunday published a commentary by Diana's friend, Rosa Monckton, saying the princess would have been "astonished" that Camilla was invited, AP said.
Friday was also a day for broadcasting video snippets of her wedding and funeral, for rehashing the rights and wrongs of her failed marriage.
According to the NY Daily News, since the crisis of Diana's death, Queen Elizabeth has softened her image. Since the cataclysmic events of a decade ago, the royals and even the queen herself have had to take lessons from the late princess on winning the respect and love of the public.
"The queen knows she's loved," says Robert Lacey, a biographer of Elizabeth. He predicts a "great outpouring of affection" for her this November, when she and Prince Philip will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. They will spend a night in Malta, where they lived when then-Princess Elizabeth and dashing naval officer Philip were newlyweds. This visit to Malta in November is being dubbed by many as a “second honeymoon” in Malta, the latter being the place where they spent some of their happiest days as a young couple.
