Posted on 09/01/2017 2:51:13 PM PDT by Rummyfan
Two decades ago today - Saturday August 30th 1997 - the ex-wife of the heir to the throne flew in to Paris with her new Egyptian boyfriend after a Mediterranean holiday on his yacht. They dined at his dad's showpiece, the Ritz, and shortly after midnight left via the rear entrance and got into a Mercedes driven by the hotel's deputy head of security. He was drunk, and in the underpass at the Place d'Alma he lost control of the car. Diana, Princess of Wales was pronounced dead at 4am on Sunday August 31st. She was 36.
The clip below shows a CNN anchorman introducing the BBC's formal announcement. The contrast in styles is noticeable: To the CNN guy, this is a bigtime A-list celebrity death; to a visibly shaken Martyn Lewis at the Beeb, the bald factual recitation is not an ending - the termination of a life - but a beginning ... of something strange and unknown. The week that followed was one of the most bizarre in modern British history:
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
As you may be aware of, there is a large segment of the U.S. population who adore British royalty. I’m not sure why. It might be because we have no actual royalty here, or perhaps it is just a branch of celebrity worship.
Can’t make up my mind about Dina.
Part of me sees her a a skanky slut.
Part of me sees her as a slutty skank.
I just don’t know which is right.
It's my understating that she came from a very wealthy,titled.family.Particularly if that's correct she should have been warned by her parents,siblings,etc of the "royal" tradition of kings and future kings having a roaming eye.A horrible tradition to be sure but tradition nevertheless.
Also,I think I recall having read that she was fooling around too.If true that kind of colors things a bit.
A victim? Yah,a victim of a horrible car accident.Other than that I don't see anything exceptional here.
Many people don't know that Mother Teresa died within a few days of Diana.She was a woman who was worthy of a billion times more respect than Diana yet many people...many Brits...have never even heard of her.
I think he gave up being the head of the Church of England so that he could marry Camilla.
“He said Spain was his choice for a place to live if Hell broke lose in the US...”
—
I wonder how the Spanish people feel about hordes of immigrants?
.
Her father was an Earl. That’s why she was “Lady Diana.” Her parents divorced, with drama, when she was young. Mark Steyn’s writings (which he is re-running on his site) say Diana was rather a mess before her marriage, let alone afterward.
It’s easy for an older person to think, “Why couldn’t she just make the tradeoffs, enjoy the position, live with the infidelity?” etc. However, I have a 19-year-old daughter. That’s not how they operate. It might have been no big deal to a teenager in 1585 ... although Catherine Howard couldn’t take it, either ... but not for a girl in the 1980s.
This is not to say Diana was anything marvelous, but she was a very young woman put into a difficult situation for which she was, if one can believe most reports, utterly unprepared.
I lived in Japan when she was killed.
It was a really big deal there, people were very sad.
Steyn has a masterful way with words and the title is a good one. Trying my hand at a rewrite: “The Transubstantiation of Diana” - given how she was changed at death from an over-privileged and self-serving twat to a minor saint, especially as noted by some comments in this thread.
Watch and see.
Imagine someone playing Mother Teresa in a $10,000 smock. That is my opinion of the Princes.
I could never understand the fascination with Diana or the entire monarchy for that matter.
At least Elvis produced something worthwhile.
What does that make Charles?
The thing I never understood is how Charles could forsake beautiful, young Diana for plain, older Camilla. Is he gay?
Some poor dumb slob who got suckered in marrying a mentally ill blonde.
Actually the best way the Brit Establishment could deal with a problem like Diana would be to let the dough-eyed whore have the Muzzie’s baby.
Didn’t care then, don’t care now.
She was modestly attractive in an insipid way, vapid, and a flake. Nothing special save by appointment.
I’ve never understood it. It is mildly nauseating.
bump
Her 2 sons turned out ok.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.