Perspectives on Princess Diana

On Sunday, August 31, 1997 the world stopped--Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a violent and stunning car accident in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris, along with her lover Dodi Fayed and their chauffeur Henri Paul. The world stood still; the mood was surreal. Diana was, as British Prime Minister Tony Blair put it, "The People's Princess, and that is how she will remain..."

Buckingham Palace has confirmed the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Queen and the Prince of Wales are deeply shocked and distressed by this terrible news. Other members of the Royal family are being informed.

Official Buckingham Palace Press Release,
August 31, 1997

The kindness and affection from the public have carried me through some of the most difficult periods, and always your love and affection have eased the journey.

Diana, Princess of Wales

I am utterly devastated. The whole of our country, all of us, will be in a state of shock and mourning. Diana was a wonderful, warm and compassionate person who people, not just in Britain, but throughout the world loved and will be mourned as a friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, particularly her two sons, and with all the families bereaved in this quite appalling tragedy.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
August 31, 1997

And when I look at people in public life, I'm not a political animal but I think the biggest disease this world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved, and I know that I can give love for a minute, for half an hour, for a day, for a month, but I can give--I'm very happy to do that and want to do that.

Princess Diana, 1995

I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness....No one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never even met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her....May those who died rest in peace and may we, each and every one of us, thank God for someone who made many, many people happy.

Queen Elizabeth II, September 5, 1997

You can't comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable.

a quote in Diana's office at Kensington Palace

She was very concerned with the poor. She was very anxious to do something for them. That is why she was close to me.

Mother Teresa on the Princess

Life is mostly froth and bubble. Two things stand like stone: kindness in another's trouble; courage, in your own.

quoted by Princess Diana in Washington, D.C.

How many times will we remember her, in how many different ways--with the sick, the dying, with children, with the needy? When, with just a look or a gesture that spoke so much more than words, she would reveal to all of us the depth of her compassion and her humanity. She was The People's Princess.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, following the Princess's death

People related to her because she's a very compassionate person, and she was concerned for those who were vulnerable around the world, those with dire human needs. She reached out to them. She held them in her arms....She gave of herself. She was a passionate person who truly cared.

Elizabeth Dole, American Red Cross president

The Princess was a much loved national figure, but she was also a mother whose sons miss her deeply.

Geoffrey Crawford, the Queen's Press Secretary

HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug, heaven knows they need it.

Princess Diana, 1989

Later, she called from Kensington Palace. "We are all sitting here suffering the most awful withdrawal symptoms," she said. "We've had the most wonderful holiday of our lives."

Mohamed Al Fayed, commenting on one of the Princess's last vacations

She was undoubtedly one of the best ambassadors of Great Britain. I found her very grateful, highly intelligent and committed to worthy causes and was tremendously impressed by her warmness.

South African President Nelson Mandela

She was The People's Princess, and that's how she will stay, how she will remain, in our hearts and in our memories forever....I feel, like everyone else in this country today, utterly devastated....We are today a nation in a state of shock, in mourning, in grief that is so deeply painful for us.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, August 31, 1997

It is with dismay and great sorrow that I learnt of the tragic death of Britain's Princess Diana. Many people in Germany loved her because of her openness and humanitarian engagement.

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl

You either have charisma or you don't. She had it. She was so brilliant with everyone--everyone just adored her. There are loads of movie stars and celebrities but there will only be one Diana.

Elizabeth Emanuel, designer of Diana's wedding gown

I met her so many times and she was always such a laugh. We used to go for lunch, she liked to dish about everything. That's why she was such a laugh. She was always very, very good and very thoughtful with the people who worked for you. There would always be some sort of flowers and things that would come the next day after an event when she was happy with her frock. One of my fitters who is retired now still gets Christmas cards--or did--even after I stopped getting one.

Bruce Oldfield, designer

Diana had been subject to the rule that members of the Royal Family must not be touched. One of her ladies-in-waiting confessed to a moment of torment when "the Princess was crying most poignantly. It was when she had just learned of her father's death and I was alone with her. I wanted desperately to put my arms around her. It was what any decent person would have done in ordinary circumstances. But it would have been unpardonable to have done so with the Princess of Wales. An important code would have been broken. No, no, I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I slipped quietly out of the room. I've never forgiven myself for that. I think it will haunt me to my grave."

Anne Edwards: "Ever After: Diana and The Life She Lived"

The greatest problem in the world today is intolerance.
Everyone is so intolerant of each other.

Princess Diana, Angola, January 1997

When you are happy, you can forgive a great deal.

Diana, speaking to a friend, 1997

I understand people's suffering, people's pain, more than you will ever know yourself.

Princess Diana to a church bishop, 1989

I like to be a free spirit. Some don't like that, but that's the way I am.

Princess Diana, 1995

Whoever is in distress can call me.
I will come running wherever they are.

Princess Diana, Angola, January 1997

The world has lost a princess who is simply irreplaceable.

Mohamed Al Fayed

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