Twenty years later, what remains of the Diana legacy?
On August 31, 1997, in Paris, Diana died. Today, his memory is more vivid than ever through William and Harry, who finally manage to express their feelings and faithfully continue their humanitarian commitment.
Who can have forgotten the words of Queen Elizabeth on September 5, 1997, on the eve of Diana's funeral? In front of the popular emotion that she sees under her windows of Buckingham Palace, she takes the measure of national mourning and pays tribute to her late ex-daughter-in-law.
"Diana was an exceptional and gifted human being"
“Since the appalling news, we have seen across Britain and around the world an overwhelming expression of sadness over Diana's death. We have all tried different ways of coping. It is not easy to express a sense of loss, as the initial shock is often followed by a mixture of other feelings: disbelief, incomprehension, anger and concern for those who remain. We have all felt these emotions these past few days. So what I am telling you now, as your queen and as a grandmother, I am saying from the bottom of my heart. First of all, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good days and bad, she never lost her ability to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her - for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her dedication to her two boys. This week at Balmoral we have all tried to help William and Harry cope with the devastating loss they and all of us have suffered. Anyone who knew Diana will never forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her. I believe there are lessons to be learned from his life and from the extraordinary and overwhelming response to his death. I share your determination to cherish his memory. I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever we are, come together in expressing our grief over the loss of Diana and in gratitude for her too short life. This is a chance to show the world that the British nation is united in sorrow and respect. May those who have died rest in peace and may we all thank God for a woman who has made many people happy. ”
Queen Elizabeth, bullied by the media over handling Diana's disappearance when she was only thinking of protecting her grandsons, found the right words to face the rumbling storm. Popular excitement around the world seemed to destine the late Princess of Wales to the status of a saint, while the throne seemed to be shaken. But when the queen, dressed all in black, says, "We must learn from Diana's death," she means she has heard the vox populi. That week, as Stephen Frears' film The Queen admirably shows, the Sovereign took stock of the rift that had grown between the British nation and the palace.
Death like an electroshock
Diana’s first legacy will be bringing the Windsors down from their pedestal to take the pulse of the nation, understand popular aspirations, and get in tune with this compassionate end of the century. Without changing her habits, but by symbolic gestures, such as when she sends text messages and tweets, agrees to shoot in a James Bond for the London Olympics in 2012 or gives Harry the answer to Obama to launch the Invictus Games, the queen is progressively more human, even endearing, while remaining perfectly dignified. And it works !
The golden (2002) and diamond (2012) jubilees of Elizabeth II saw the popularity of the monarchy reach unprecedented records, without the memory of Diana having faded, even if it been reassessed. William did not grow up in the deadly cult of his mother, but in combining a traditional aristocratic life with the sense of devotion to others dear to Diana. Better still, he knew how to choose a wife, Kate Middleton, to whom the love of the British people was devoted with fervor. No doubt this is the magical effect of the talisman symbolized by the sapphire on Diana's engagement ring, which William slipped on his future wife's finger on April 29, 2011! Carrying out a flawless run, Kate not only gave the Crown two heirs, but she was able to show that she was a woman of heart and took over from Diana without eclipsing her in the memory of the British .... “The People's Princess” remains the symbol of the 1980s and 1990s. The first Gotha star. A woman who, after having publicized her sorrows, used her international audience to defend the causes that affected her: AIDS patients, children with cancer, victims of anti-personnel mines ... look at others and their suffering that she ended up learning to love herself and accept her demons.
The gift of oneself as an inheritance, but not only ...
"The Princess of Wales is the heroine of a fairy tale who seems to have crushed her"
Twenty years later, the fever has subsided somewhat, but not its popularity. The Princess of Wales is definitely a legend. The heroine of a fairy tale who seems to have crushed her - no doubt because she had the weakness to believe it - she has lost none of her aura of mystery twenty years after her death. Regularly, sensational books are released in Great Britain, the United States and France. Like a Marilyn, Diana will always fuel the doubts of those who believe in plots and curses. The only significant revelation from the book Who Killed Lady Di? by Jean Michel Caradech, published by Grasset, concerns the Mercedes of the Ritz, a wreck that should never have been driven and even less transported the princess ...
In addition to the financial legacy of the deceased - each of her sons received, on their thirtieth birthday, around 15 million euros from their personal wealth - there is the princess’s moral legacy. This legacy continues through the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, which took over from Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. This charitable fund was created in September 1997, the day after the young woman’s sudden death, and in fifteen years it has distributed more than 127 million euros to 44 different charities spread over five continents. The sale of Candle in the Wind alone, the song written by Elton John in tribute to the princess, will have brought the Memorial Fund more than 48 million euros. In order to legally protect the name of the organization, and to ensure that funds which may still be paid to it in the future will go to humanitarian works, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as well as Prince Harry, have made know at the end of November 2012 that their foundation would become in March 2013 the legal owner of the Memorial Fund. Eager to zealously pursue Diana's work, William, Kate and Harry have broadened their fields of action to include children's mental health, cancer patients, palliative care, the social reintegration of underprivileged children, and therapy. through sport, to the prevention of AIDS in Africa or to the fight against ivory trafficking ...
These princely patronages should be reinforced upon the retirement of Prince Philip, who would like to pass on some of his official prerogatives, as the Queen herself has entrusted Kate with honorary presidencies.
The new generation thrills for Kate
Visibly involved, William, Kate and Harry are taking the front lines to wear the colors of a revitalized monarchy and more social than ever. "We want to be faithful by our action to the memory of our mother and to what she taught us", say the two brothers in unison, never failing to pay homage to their father, Prince Charles, who was their port of call. 'tie and an anchor point throughout their difficult adolescence ...
"Kate took over from Diana without eclipsing her in the memory of the British"
In reality, the memory of Diana had faded and it was necessary to open more social and charitable actions to generate funds, especially as the star of the Duchess of Cambridge shines in the firmament, reinforced by the birth of Prince George, followed by Charlotte. Those who lived through the “Diana years” have aged, they have been joined by a younger generation, who now vibrate for Kate, as recent images from Trooping the Color showed on June 17 in London. The emotion aroused by Diana's death gradually faded and was relegated to memory. In fact, the mourning is over. In the face of history, she will one day be the late mother of a King of England. William V, in which the British like to find in his appearance - that look - and in his behavior - this sincere empathy for those who suffer - the trace of his mother. At the same time, the one who occupies the throne (media and symbolic) of Diana is undoubtedly Catherine, whom we persist in calling Kate, as Diana used to be Lady Di .... The Duchess of Cambridge followed her example by becoming in her turn a fashion icon, revisiting with style a fashionable classicism, but also a model of a benevolent princess listening to the most fragile, the sick, the disabled. "I would have loved her to do knowing Catherine and seeing the children grow up. It makes me sad to know that it will not be the case and that they will never know her, "Prince William recently confessed in an interview, referring to the cruel lack of his mother.
A very long mourning to do
On Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday, the Duke of Cambridge had begun to recall this dark period in his life, when at the age of fifteen he was confronted with the disappearance of Diana. “Having lost my mother at such a young age, it was especially important for me to have someone like the Queen to turn to, who was present and understood the complex issues that arise when you lose a being. dear, ”he confided at the time. Gradually accepting interviews on this sensitive subject, William and Harry now multiply tributes to Diana, admitting that it took a long time for them to mourn and manage to speak publicly about their mother. They testify in a BBC documentary broadcast on August 31. In this film, William explains that he and his brother felt that they owed this testimony to their mother, because they did not know how to protect her memory when they were young, and that they now wish to remind all what a person she was. “It has never been easy for us to talk about our mother, but twenty years later seems like a good date to tell people about the changes she has made possible, not just within the royal family, but also in the world. world."
Visibly involved, William, Kate and Harry are taking the front lines to wear the colors of a revitalized monarchy and more social than ever. "We want to be faithful by our action to the memory of our mother and to what she taught us", say the two brothers in unison, never failing to pay homage to their father, Prince Charles, who was their port of call. 'tie and an anchor point throughout their difficult adolescence ...
"Kate took over from Diana without eclipsing her in the memory of the British"
In reality, the memory of Diana had faded and it was necessary to open more social and charitable actions to generate funds, especially as the star of the Duchess of Cambridge shines in the firmament, reinforced by the birth of Prince George, followed by Charlotte. Those who lived through the “Diana years” have aged, they have been joined by a younger generation, who now vibrate for Kate, as recent images from Trooping the Color showed on June 17 in London. The emotion aroused by Diana's death gradually faded and was relegated to memory. In fact, the mourning is over. In the face of history, she will one day be the late mother of a King of England. William V, in which the British like to find in his appearance - that look - and in his behavior - this sincere empathy for those who suffer - the trace of his mother. At the same time, the one who occupies the throne (media and symbolic) of Diana is undoubtedly Catherine, whom we persist in calling Kate, as Diana used to be Lady Di .... The Duchess of Cambridge followed her example by becoming in her turn a fashion icon, revisiting with style a fashionable classicism, but also a model of a benevolent princess listening to the most fragile, the sick, the disabled. "I would have loved her to do knowing Catherine and seeing the children grow up. It makes me sad to know that it will not be the case and that they will never know her, "Prince William recently confessed in an interview, referring to the cruel lack of his mother.
A very long mourning to do
On Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday, the Duke of Cambridge had begun to recall this dark period in his life, when at the age of fifteen he was confronted with the disappearance of Diana. “Having lost my mother at such a young age, it was especially important for me to have someone like the Queen to turn to, who was present and understood the complex issues that arise when you lose a being. dear, ”he confided at the time. Gradually accepting interviews on this sensitive subject, William and Harry now multiply tributes to Diana, admitting that it took a long time for them to mourn and manage to speak publicly about their mother. They testify in a BBC documentary broadcast on August 31. In this film, William explains that he and his brother felt that they owed this testimony to their mother, because they did not know how to protect her memory when they were young, and that they now wish to remind all what a person she was. “It has never been easy for us to talk about our mother, but twenty years later seems like a good date to tell people about the changes she has made possible, not just within the royal family, but also in the world. world."
"I was always ready to throw punches. I didn't know what was wrong with me…"
Two decades is the time it took for Prince Harry of England to calm his suffering and violence, after Diana's brutal death, when he was only 12 years old. As part of a campaign to change mindsets about mental health issues, the prince admitted that he had completely suppressed his feelings for years, an ostrich policy that resulted in serious mental health problems like crises bordering on burn-out. “I can say with serenity that losing my mother at 12 and blocking all my emotions for the last twenty years has had serious consequences on my personal life, but also in my work,” he revealed with disconcerting frankness. "My way of dealing with my mourning was to put my head in the sand," continues Harry, who has long been convinced that talking or talking about his mother with those around him would be useless, if not to "make him even more sad". Big mistake, he now judges with hindsight. The pent-up emotion and this contained pain will lead him to many outbursts, including "total chaos for two years, where I was always ready to punch. I couldn't put my finger on the problem, I didn't know what was wrong with me… ”It was the time of“ Dirty Harry ”, which regularly made the headlines of the popular press: consumption of cannabis, excess alcohol, Nazi costume ball, drunken evenings with scantily clad bimbos ... In the interview he gave, the prince explains that he found a diversion thanks to boxing, "a very good way to channel aggression ”.
Anger that had to be evacuated through speech
But the real remedy was to bring up the loss of his mother and this inner anger with therapists, especially from the age of 28, which is to say very recently. A step he owes in particular to the advice of several relatives and Prince William, also very affected by the death of Diana, and who suffered to see his brother in such a state. "It's all about the click," Harry admits today. For me my brother - God bless him - has been a huge support. He said it wasn't normal, that I needed to talk to someone about all of this. But the time had not yet come. You have to feel it deep inside you and you also have to find the right person to talk about it. ” Today Harry says he is much better. "After all the process that has been going on over the past two years, I am now able to take my job seriously, but also my private life and give my all in what matters."
"I can talk about her more openly. It took me almost twenty years to get to this."
The 32-year-old prince has resigned from the military and is devoting his time to humanitarian work, including supporting charitable sports competitions, such as the infamous Invictus Games, for injured or disabled veterans. As for his older brother, William, a few days before the 20th anniversary of the death of the Princess of Wales, he declares: "I feel better about this subject, better than I have been for a long time, I can speak of it. 'her more openly, more honestly, and I remember her better. It took me almost twenty years to get there. I still find it difficult because it was so lively back then. " The 35-year-old prince, who recently honored the victims of the Manchester and London bombings, also noted that his pain may have seemed magnified due to the public nature of his status as prince. “It's not like most people's pain, because everyone else knows, everyone knows the story It's a different situation than many people who lose someone they like, it can be hidden or they can choose whether or not to share their story. " Having become a father of two young children, the Duke of Cambridge has also spoken candidly about his daily life. “I couldn't do my job without the stability of my family. Balance at home is very important to me. I want to raise my children in a safe and happy world. I would like them to learn to live simply, taking care of those around them and treating others as they would like to be treated on their own. "
Echoing Diana's words about the education she intended to give her sons, William emphatically states, “I want George to grow up in a real environment. I don't want him to live behind the walls of a palace, he has to experiment in the outside world. The media makes it harder, but I will fight for him to have a normal life. " And he, in turn, passes on Diana's legacy.
