The death of Princess Diana , in 1997, was one of the greatest challenges for the Crown. So much so that the cold and distant reaction of Queen Elizabeth was about to break the affection of the British for their sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, who died today, September 8.
The beloved ‘people’s princess’, Diana of Wales , better known as Lady Di , was the first wife of the new king of the United Kingdom, then Prince Charles of Wales, eldest son of Elizabeth II. A few days ago, it was 25 years since the tragic death of Princess Diana.
Lady Di’s story
Diana was part of an aristocratic family and, therefore, at the time, Queen Elizabeth II did not object when she found out that she was the fiancée of Prince Charles. The two met when Diana was 16 and Carlos was 29, in the fall of 1977. But it was not until 1980 that his interest in her was consolidated and Diana visited Balmoral, the Scottish residence of the royal family.
Finally, they got engaged, married and Lady Di became Princess of Wales on July 29, 1981.
During her marriage to the new British sovereign, she had two children, Princes William and Harry. Lady Di, before becoming a princess, had a paid job as a kindergarten teacher’s assistant, something unheard of for a royal bride.
Relationship with Queen Elizabeth and moments of tension
Queen Elizabeth II gave her approval for the union between Carlos and Diana. At first, the relationship was one of trust, although sober and distant. But it got more and more complicated as the marriage crumbled. In addition, there were moments of tension that did not sit well with the sovereign.
In 1985, Lady Di and Carlos made a state visit to the United States, where they would be received by the sovereign Ronald Reagan.
However, on that visit, Diana starred in a dance with actor John Travolta, of whom she was a fan. The media made this dance the center of attention. But in the eyes of Queen Elizabeth this was not well seen.
There was also a night in which Diana dressed up as a man to meet Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, in a London gay pub. The queen was not amused by this act either.
The relative simplicity of Princess Diana even led her to choose a more liberal and normal education and lifestyle for her children. And they were, in fact, the first members of the royal family to attend a school and not be educated at home. In general, she always wanted her and her family to be close to the village and treated as equals.
But everything got worse because, in reality, the marriage with Carlos was never stable. In fact, Princess Diana once commented that her marriage “was always 3”, referring to Camilla Parker, the current wife of Charles and who could be called the new queen consort.
And so, while, on the one hand, Diana won the hearts of the British, on the other, she fell out with Queen Elizabeth II.
The death of Lady Di and the reaction of Elizabeth II
In 1992, “Annus Horribilis” in her own words, the marriages of the children of Isabel II Carlos, Ana and Andrés, exploded, and her beloved Windsor castle burned.
But it was worse in 1997 the death of Diana, already divorced from Carlos, who was about to break the affection of the British for a sovereign who appeared cold and distant. On August 31, 1997, Diana died in a car accident in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, on the north bank of the Seine River, in Paris, France; while the driver fled from the paparazzi. The accident also resulted in the death of her partner Dodi Al-Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul, who was the acting security manager of the Hôtel Ritz Paris.
Although at first she refused to show affection, mourning or sadness for these events, Queen Elizabeth II ended up paying homage to the “princess of the people” and little by little, the image of the monarchy recovered.
After reconsidering and with the desire to recover the love of her people, Queen Elizabeth vindicated herself and addressed the following words to the memory of Lady Di.
“No one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of people who never knew her personally, but felt they knew her, will always remember her. I believe there are lessons to be learned from her life, as well as the extraordinary and emotional reactions to her death.” “, he said in a rare televised speech about his daughter-in-law, Diana of Wales, after criticism for his coolness in the face of her death in a 1997 car accident in Paris.
But the Windsors learned from their mistakes and gradually regained credibility, demonstrating their capacity for renewal within continuity with the sumptuous wedding of Prince William, the eldest son of Charles and Diana, with the young commoner Catherine and later that of his brother. Enrique with the American actress Meghan Markle.
With information from AFP.
