Princess Diana still mourned 10 years later
LONDON — Princess Diana's family solemnly marked the 10th anniversary of her death today at a service organized by her sons, while admirers tied scores of bouquets, poems and portraits to the gates of her former home.
"To us, just two loving children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world," Prince Harry, her younger son, said in a eulogy.
"When she was alive, we completely took for granted her unrivaled love of life, laughter, fun and folly," Harry said.
"She was our guardian, friend and protector. She never once allowed her unfaltering love for us to go unspoken or undemonstrated."
It was a day for broadcasting video snippets of one wedding and funeral; for rehashing the rights and wrongs of the failed marriage of Diana and Prince Charles.
It was one more day for dredging up questions about how she came to die in a car crash in Paris with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, and for the Daily Telegraph to publish an essay which explained "why we were right to weep for Diana."
Harry and his brother, Prince William, were credited with organizing the noontime service at the Guards' Chapel near Buckingham, but Charles was blamed by many for the furor over an invitation to his current wife.
Camilla, who was blamed by Diana 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.
"Actually, she would have been astonished to learn that her former husband had married his longtime mistress," Monckton wrote.
Camilla's first wedding, to Andrew Parker Bowles, had been at the Guards' Chapel.
A few hundred people had gathered outside by midmorning, in contrast to the masses who lined the route of Diana's funeral procession to Westminster Abbey 10 years ago.
"She reached our lives deeply, even in America. She brought life to the palace and warmth, and that's what the monarchy needed," said Arlene Fitch, 54, of Boston, one of the early arrivals.
Fitch and her sister, Marie Schofield, 46, from Florida, said they planned their vacation to be in London at the time of the service.
"She (Diana) got married the same year as me, she had children the same year as me and, as her boys have grown up, they have done just the same kind of things as our boys would do," Schofield said.
Diana's most ardent admirers tied scores of bouquets, poems and pictures to the gates of Kensington Palace, Diana's former home, but the display paled in comparison to the vast carpet of blossoms that accumulated in the days immediately after her death.
Rev. Frank Gelli, who has led an informal service outside Kensington Palace every year, said this probably would be the last one. "It would be good if the princess was allowed to rest," he told a reporter.
Eileen Neathey, 56, of London, treasured the memory of a chance encounter with Diana at a hospital, where Neathey's mother was a patient.
"I had been up all night and was very upset, and when I bumped into Diana I burst into tears," said Neathey, who was outside Kensington Palace. "She put her arm round me and comforted me — that's the way she was."
Queen Elizabeth II headed the list of guests at the service, along with her husband Prince Philip. Prince Edward, Charles' younger brother, and his sister Princess Anne were in the congregation.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former Prime Minister John Major, who was in office when the royal marriage broke up, also attended. More than 110 representatives of charities and other organizations that Diana supported.
Sir Elton John came, but did not reprise his reworking of "Candle in the Wind," which he performed at the funeral.
