Six rules of protocol that were broken during Princess Diana's funeral
It has been 22 years since that sad day that Lady Di passed away, undoubtedly a great loss that marked royalty. The media and society in general followed up on the case. During her funeral her coffin was carried from Kensington Palace to Hyde Park and then to St. James's Palace. She passed by Buckingham Palace and stopped for a ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
She was finally allowed to rest at home, away from cameras, on an islet created by the Spencer family, 112 kilometers from London.
Although many people attended her funeral, the village princess was buried in private. The only ones present were her mother and her brothers, a close family friend, Prince Charles, William, Harry, and a priest.
Diana was wearing a black dress designed by Catherine Walker and in her hands they placed a rosary given to her by Mother Teresa (who tragically died that same week). In her place of eternal rest, 36 trees were planted - one for each year of her life - and white roses, in addition to keeping swans in the water surrounding her grave.
Here are some unforgettable moments of that sad day and in which the established royal protocol was broken:
1. The televised message of Queen Elizabeth II
The apparently cold response of Queen Elizabeth II after the accident that claimed the life of the princess in Paris on August 31, 1997 caused her harsh criticism. The monarch herself considered that the event should be treated in a private and family way, because Diana was no longer an official member of the royal family.
But the reactions of great discomfort among British society made her break, for the first time, several rules of protocol with which she managed to show humanity and closeness to citizens dismayed by the death of the one known as "the people's princess"
It took five days, but Queen Elizabeth II finally decided to make a televised speech after criticism for not having made public signs of mourning after Diana's death.
Apart from the Christmas messages, the Queen herself had only spoken once on television. It was in 1991, on the occasion of the Gulf War. And this was the first time that her speech was broadcast live.
That day, dressed in black and in front of an open window through which a concentrated crowd was seen in front of the entrance to Buckingham Palace, the monarch defined Diana as "an exceptional human being."
2. The British flag in the palace at half mast
The royal banner - the queen's personal flag - flies when Elizabeth II is at Buckingham Palace, her official London residence.
After Diana's death, many citizens unfamiliar with protocol interpreted the fact that the British flag was not flown at half mast in the palace as disrespect for the princess. After much criticism, when the queen left Buckingham to attend Diana's funeral, the royal standard remained at half mast for the remainder of the day.
3. The royal standard on Diana's coffin
The royal standard was placed on the coffin of the Princess of Wales, despite the fact that this symbol is only used with members of the royal family. Diana no longer belonged to it, as she had signed her divorce from Prince Charles a year before her death. But the flag covered her coffin since the repatriation of her body from Paris to London began.
The military man Charles Richie, stationed at the British embassy in France at that time, told the Sky channel that it was he who made the decision to use the banner under his responsibility, despite knowing that he was breaking protocol.
4. The walking tour next to the coffin of her children and ex-husband
Diana's children - Princes William and Harry - her ex-husband Prince Charles, her brother the Earl of Spencer and the Duke of Edinburgh followed Diana's coffin on foot during the funeral procession that ran through the streets of London until they reached Westminster Abbey.
The decision that her children, aged 12 and 15, participated in that act in which they were crestfallen throughout the journey was questioned.
"It was one of the hardest things I have ever done," said the Duke of Cambridge. "It was not an easy decision and it was something like the fruit of a family conversation. You had to keep a balance between duty and family, and that's what we did," he said.
His younger brother - who previously told Newsweek that walking after his mother's coffin was something that "should not be asked" of any child - later claimed not to have an opinion on whether participating was correct or not, but looking back, he is satisfied that he did.
5. The queen's reverence before Diana's coffin
Rarely did such a small gesture carry so much weight. As Diana's coffin passed in front of Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment.
The monarch is not obliged to perform this courtesy to other people, as others are expected to do when they greet her.
According to several analysts, this small detail was definitive to contribute to the reconciliation of many Britons with their Crown after that initial cold response to the death of Lady Di.
6. Spain was not present
Curiously, no one came as a representative of the Spanish Royal House, despite the fact that Juan Carlos' relationship with the marriage formed by Carlos and Diana had been close in the eighties.
Several personalities were present, such as Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, George Michael, Luciano Pavarotti, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were among the famous guests.
Politicians such as Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair or Nelson Mandela, royals such as Noor of Jordan, Princess Margarita or Masako and Naruhito of Japan also attended.
Elton John, a personal friend of Diana, sang a version of her song Candle in the wind, originally dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, with the lyrics updated by him and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. The lyrics of the original, which began as "Goodbye, Norma Jean, even though I never got to know you" was changed to "Goodbye, rose of England, maybe you will grow in our hearts."
