Valkyre

10 years ago

I remember where I was when I heard that Diana, Princess of Wales had died. I couldn't believe it. I remember getting up early in the morning to watch the funeral. I recorded it on a VHS tape, but I have been unable to watch it again.

Article here

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Exactly a decade to the day since Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris, her youngest son Prince Harry said Friday he wants his mother to be remembered for the way "she made us and so many other people happy."

Speaking during a royal memorial service in London as part of a series of tributes, Harry, 22, said: "We miss her. She kissed us last thing a night, her beaming smile greeted us from school."

As the camera panned around the room people could be seen dabbing their eyes with tissues.

"She will always be remembered for her amazing public work, but behind the media glare -- to just two loving children -- she was quite simply the best mother in the world," he said.

Diana's elder son, William, 25, also spoke at the special thanksgiving ceremony in the Guards' Chapel. He read from St Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

The princes delivered their speeches in front of their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, Diana's former husband Prince Charles, other members of the Royal Family, Diana's family and about 500 guests who had gathered for the ceremony.

However, Charles's wife Camilla stayed away. She decided not to attend amid criticism that it would be inappropriate for her to be there. Read more about Camilla's decision to stay away from the service

Diana's death at the age of 36, in the early hours of August 31, 1997, stunned the nation and led to a mass outpouring of public grief.

Distraught mourners wept openly in the streets and people flocked to her home, Kensington Palace, leaving behind a carpet of flowers. Photo See photos of Diana's memorial »

Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed were killed when the Mercedes-Benz limousine they were traveling in hit a pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris.

They were being pursued at the time by the paparazzi after leaving the Ritz Hotel.

Driver Henri Paul, who was also killed, was drunk and driving at high speed. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was the sole survivor.

Dodi's father Mohamed al Fayed held two minutes' silence in honor of his son and the princess at his Harrods store in Knightsbridge, London.

Al Fayed maintains that his son and the princess were murdered in a plot by the British establishment and security services.

But a UK police investigation concluded in 2006 that the Paris car crash was an accident and not an elaborate murder plot. A French probe had already reached the same conclusion.

In an address at the service, The Bishop of London called for an end to using Diana, Princess of Wales's memory to score points, declaring: "Let it end here."

He said the commemoration should mark the point at which "we let Diana rest in peace."

Guests at the Guards' Chapel service include Elton John, Cliff Richard and celebrity photographer Mario Testino, as well as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major.

The princess's former butler, Paul Burrell, who was accused by William and Harry of a "cold and overt betrayal" for publishing a tell-all book, and others who sold their stories, have also been left off the guest list for Friday's service

Posted by Valkyre at August 31, 2007 11:59 PM