Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997, and her death had a huge impact on the royal family. She was involved in a catastrophic car accident.
On August 31, 1997, the British royal family changed forever.
It took the Princess of Wales’ life to change their perspective in today’s world. Dodi and the driver, Henri Paul were killed instantly. However, Princess Diana was rushed to the hospital where medics desperately tried to save her. There was nothing they could do. And at 4 AM Princess of Wales, Diana was pronounced dead.
It was traumatising for a lot of people: Prince Charles, who was on holiday with the Queen and his two sons William and Harry, was the first to be told about his ex-wife’s death. He was devastated indeed. He knew both he and the royal family would be blamed for all of it.
Both Her Majesty and Charles agreed on one thing. It was that Prince William and Prince Harry would be their main priority. Journalist and friend of the princess, Richard Kay told in a documentary: “Queen Elizabeth’s view was that the boys were their main priority”.
Also read: Princess Diana’s rare handwritten note for Prince Harry.
“They took the decision they wouldn’t wake William and Harry. And decided to wait until they woke up in the morning to tell them. This would be one of the few things Her Majesty and her son were to agree on following Diana’s death. Charles took the decision that he was going to Paris to bring back Diana’s body”.
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Things started to change from this decision onward: Richard added: “This was quite a surprise and a brave move. He was an ex-husband, he had no right to be there other than as the father of her sons. Prince Charles wanted to take the royal flight to Paris. But, the Queen wouldn’t allow it. That time, he fought harder for Diana than he had ever fought for her in her lifetime”.
Charles refused to back down. And eventually, Her Majesty agreed to allow him to fly on the royal plane to bring his ex-wife’s body back to Britain. The following morning, Charles, William and Harry, along with the rest of the royal family attended church at Balmoral. It was before he took the royal plane to France with Diana’s sisters, Jane and Sarah.
When he arrived at the hospital he was met by President Jacques Chirac: Prince Charles agreed for Diana’s coffin to be draped with the royal standard when it was removed from the hospital. This was a touching tribute to his wife, who had been stripped of her royal titles following her divorce. Just 16 hours after her death, the plane carrying Princess Diana’s body touched down at RAF Northolt in Norfolk.
Also read: The Queen Mother didn’t allow Diana’s name mentioned after her marriage with Prince Charles ended.
Prince Diana was finally home. Called the People’s Princess following the tragedy, Diana’s death sparked a period of huge national grief. A sea of flowers were left outside Buckingham Palace. Her funeral at Westminster Abbey was watched by 2.5 billion people across the world.
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