On the evening of August 31, 1997 a couple walked out the side door of the Ritz restaurant. They were the 36-year-old Diana Spencer and his partner Dodi Al-Fayed, away to Paris, returning from the most talked-about summer ever. Outside the back door they found even more paparazzi than the main one. They got into a Mercedes, the driver left instantly. The car was immediately chased by a procession of photographers, tried to make its way through the busy Seine, until it crossed the tunnel under the Alma bridge.
And there, at a certain point, the car swerved, crashing into one of the poles. Only Dodi’s bodyguard, the only one wearing the seat belt, could have survived the impact. The driver and the two passengers died almost instantly.
William and Harry, little boys, were on vacation in Balmoral. Everyone was there, father Carlo, grandfather Filippo, the queen. The public reaction to Lady Diana’s death was beyond all expectations. Vigils, public tears, commotion on the streets of London. Elizabeth II committed what, still today, is attributed to her like her only mistake in 70 years of reign: being cold, almost indifferent to the news. An error, if you can call it that, which the sovereign – it is also said at the invitation of Prime Minister Tony Blair – tried to remedy immediately. A public speech, emotion, head bowed at the funeral.
And 24 years later Diana Spencer is still the protagonist. Of the British royal family as well as of public opinion. In fact, in life Diana gave new life to the English monarchy and with his death he changed her forever. Today, her legacy lives on in everything from the Windsors’ less inaccessible approach to the public to William and Harry’s charity projects to pretty much everything Kate Middleton does. Almost half a century after his death, the “The Diana Effect” is alive and well, more than ever.
This summer a slice of her wedding cake, 40 years after the royal wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral, was auctioned for nearly 2,000 pounds. To the Venice Film Festival 2021, which opens in a few days, one of the most anticipated films sees her as the protagonist. We are talking about Spencer, directed by Pablo Larrain and starring Lady D played by Kristen Stewart. It tells the story of a long Christmas weekend in Sandringham in 1991, the one in which according to the chronicles the princess made the decision to want to divorce Charles. And then in 2022 it will return The Crown, and the most anticipated character of the fifth season (as it has just been for the fourth) will still be her. To bring it on stage, this time, Elizabeth Debicki. It does not end here. It is also a reminder of his memory and legacy a new documentary, full of period films and testimonies. D. Time. The time of Lady D, produced by Rai Documentari and aired in prime time on Rai 1 on the anniversary of the princess’s death on August 31, retraces the 30 years in which the princess was the “only interpreter of her time”.
Daughter of Count Spencer and Frances Shand Kydd, baptized in the same St. Mary Magdalene Church where her granddaughter Charlotte was also baptized, Diana grew up within very noble walls but incredibly alone. First the divorce of the parents, then the arrival of the stepmother Raine. Little study and a lot of sport. The skates and the dance. Sweet and strong-willed, modest but exuberant. Diana, in the early 1980s, has all the credentials to become (future) queen.
On 29 July 1981, over 600,000 people on the streets of central London and over 750 million people in front of the TV, follow the royal wedding of the century. Camilla Parker Bowles she is sitting among the pews of the church. Diana is 19 (Kate will be 29 that same day), Carlo in announcing the engagement had said: «Do I love her? Whatever love means. ‘ Their marriage is so disastrous, Diana can do so much with the public. Empathic is an understatement. Whether it’s a dress (the Travolta dress) or a smile, Lady D is able to attract attention like no other member of the Windsors. In 1996 the divorce became official, it frees itself from rules and protocol, and carries on what it really cares about: humanitarian battles. Awareness of HIV, landmines, to remember the most important. Princess of hearts, princess of the people.
The statue wanted by William and Harry in his honor in the center of Kensington Palace Gardens, and inaugurated last July 1st on the day he would have turned 60 on August 31st, it remains open to the public.
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