10 YEARS LATER – A Princess named Diana

I recall the dawn when the tragic accident ended the life of one of the most dynamic personalities of recent history. I lived in Shadwell, East London then. Tons of questions lingered in my mind then like most people I knew, as it does now; and it not because I was an ‘Evening News’ and the ‘Standard’ fanatic (London Newspapers). Pure coincidence.

Princess Diana probably symbolized more than anything, a new generation of defiance and psychological rebelliousness to the status quo, a matter that not even his brother Spencer had words for. 10 years later, the Queen and the Royal family take delivery of ‘warm’ receptions to Diana’s memorial; only Camilla was not invited (or declined to attend for obvious reasons.)

Since the death of the Princess of Wales, who was seen by many as the ‘People’s Princess’, the logical question is have the people learned anything from her life and death at all? Of course there are harsh lessons in any event, and Princess Diana exemplified lived life to the fullest. She enjoyed every moment of it, perhaps with the thought that tomorrow was not promised.

Back in England a decade ago, I stood in front of Kensington Palace like most Londoner’s and wondered if her death would signal the death of the values and the colorful agenda she stood for. There were people who often said that Princess Diana was an ‘American’ born in England, and that respect she was nothing more than forcing any of President Bush’s daughter not to party. . (PS: the reference is more proverbial than sarcastic and in no way connected to the party-like-a-rockstar attitude of the Bush daughter). In America, perhaps to a large extent and thanks to the ACLU, you can be ‘all you want to be’ and love anyone you want to love; but not in the good ol’ England. The questions remain with no answers in sight, the butlers all have twisted recollections, memories have faded and the British Intelligence seem uninterested to end the skeptism.
So here we go again.

Somewhere in the shuffle was the side note, don’t forget the man he died with; Dodi Fayed. I am sure he has a family too, very wealthy as a matter of fact , and they also will wondering what happened to their beloved son; but something tells me that he will not get any state burial or Sir Elton John writing song in his memory. And for my friends in London, in case you are counting on a Harrods sale this weekend; - forget about it. There is the school of thought that contends that Diana pushed the British social envelope too far, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict the inevitable. However her death ‘provoked an unprecedented outpouring of national grief, with hundreds of thousands gathering to mourn outside Kensington Palace, where they left a sea of floral tributes.’

10 years ago my friend Frank made a striking point, irrespective of its validity. Princess Diana spent her life across the world in search of happiness, inner joy and contentment, and whether she did or did not find it; the answers are six feet under. Our hearts go out to Harry and William; today is a difficult day for the British people and Londoners especially.

Let the tragedy be a reminder of how fragile we all are, and maybe live today, the very best we know how.
Peace



(Candle in the Wind - Sir Elton John)
Goodbye England's rose
May you ever grow in our hearts
You were the grace that placed itself
Where lives were torn apart
You called out to our country
And you whispered to those in pain
Now you belong to heaven
And the stars spell out your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never fading with the sunset
When the rain set in
And your footsteps will always fall here
Along England's greenest hills
Your candle's burned out long before
Your legend ever will