Diana, Princess of Wales: She Died 28 Years Ago Today

Queen of Hearts

So sad

She was a mercurial person. It would have been very tiring to be in the orbit of her mood swings.

Shocking

Funeral fit for a queen

Obligatory...

Funeral: 6 September 1997

Duke and Duchess of York with Princess Beatrice and Eugenie

Tragic

The Queen and Philip

Princess Margaret, Viscount Linley and his wife.

I recall being in my mom's basement & avoiding my family who came over for Labor Day weekend & listening to the increasingly grim updates. At that time, Diana's every move was covered, so I figured she'd just waltz out of the hospital with a broken arm & maybe a black eye, looking as glam as ever.

Not make this a Harkle thread, but it's so hard to believe that Harry, who had such much good will as the little boy behind walking behind his mother's coffin is viewed the way he is today.

A sea of flowers

I remember being underwhelmed by her funeral procession, which was rather subdued.

The movie EVITA had come out less than a year earlier, so I was expecting the spectacle and pageantry of that one.

I know this sounds MARY - but that was one of the most emotional days for me, for some weird reason. Watched the whole thing.

I know I wasn't the only one - but looking back, I'm kind of in wonder at how gutting it was for me.

I guess it was a combo of her being young, having 2 young sons, press hounding her that caused the crash, finally being free from a marriage where she wasn't wanted.

Just seemed grotesquely unfair. If she had died in a plane crash or something else, maybe it wouldn't have stung as much - but being chased by the press just seemed awful. Yes - I know the driver was drunk, blah, blah and speeding - but he wouldn't have been speeding without the press.

Gorgeous

I loved her. She was one of the most charismatic public figures of our lifetime.

There will never be anyone like her.

It's still hard to believe she's gone.

I found out about her death while I was sitting in church the morning she died. I thought the pastor was joking, but after a moment, realized he was not.

The Revenge Dress

Stunning

When the news broke. I was on the way to my boyfriend's house for dinner. After driving there, I couldn't stay when I found out his television was not working. We drove 20 miles back to my house to follow what was happening. I couldn't eat dinner knowing Diana was in critical condition at the time. Her death was shocking and unbelievably sad.

Nothing like it.

Don't worry.

I'm here to pick up where she left off!

Regal

R21. Markle...you're no comparison whatsoever.

Lovely

I was at my parents' house and I was returning to college the next day so I had the tv on in the background while I was packing my clothes and a news bulletin came on. When it was announced that she was dead it was such a surreal moment, just shocking.

Diana broke barriers as she shakes hands with an AIDS patient, 1991.

People tell me I remind them of her...

Markle...get the hell off this page. Piece of shit.

We are remembering Diana. You don't belong here.

So many pressing questions she never got to weigh in on. Ruben or Clay Idol 03. Hillary or Obama presidential year of 2008.

Would she have replicated a Beyonce Put a ring on it viral video. Would she be pro Israel or Palestine. Would she have approved of the Kimi Paper magazine cover?

We're twins!

Camilla is blacked-out drunk today.

I had just gotten home from a trip to Hawaii and turned on CNN and she hadn’t died yet. I was stunned and watched the whole thing.

I liked the Ken doll anchor and can never remember his odd name.

r32 I think you mean Linden Soles.

I will say, Diana was kinda homely in the face but boy was this woman flawless. Every gown or getup she wore. When she opened that mouth nothing but class and she actually had something to say. God broke the mold when he made this English white woman. I was only 9 yrs old when she departed but even I miss her. Imagine someone like her with that influence during the Iraqi war era or Trump 2.0. She had power yo. Something about her was just so regal. She would have influenced the American masses.

I was 14 at the time and couldn’t jerk off for an entire week because I was in mourning.

She was beautiful. Charles was a fool.

And how would you feel if you found out your fairy-tale wedding was a big sham to cover up an affair with a hag twice your age??

She deserved every happiness. Instead she suffered an untimely demise.

Life truly isn't fair.

I remember it well.

[quote]R18 The Revenge Dress. Stunning.

You can sew it!

I was only 12 at the time.

Harry and Charles looked so sad...

Harry and Charles always shared the same expressions.

William was different.

The entire world was captivated by Diana the moment she stepped into the international spotlight, and it never let go.

The entire world was shocked beyond words when she tragically died. When you think of someone who made a difference and changed the world, Diana is at the top of the list and will never be forgotten. Twenty-eight years later, and it's as if she is still with us.

🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱

I went to bed the night it happened thinking she was probably fine and the media was just milking it for ratings. The next morning I was up for a bit doing my thing (it was a Saturday) just puttering around, making coffee, etc. I was probably awake for an hour before I remembered and thought "oh I should check the news." I was stunned when I saw she had died. It was surreal. She was so young, newly divorced. She was all over the newsstands that summer, big Vanity Fair spread, at Versace's funeral, her love life splashed all over the tabloids.

I wonder what she'd be like today if she had lived. The whole Camilla thing would have played out differently.

Would she have married Dodi Fayed?

Well, you remember who Jackie on Assistance married, don't you?

Diana may have married Dodi for the very same reason (except he was better looking!), so it wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world.

Good question R45. I think the Royal Family didn’t want to risk that happening.

I was at a birthday party, and a friend arrived around 10:30pm and screamed, Princess Diana died!

We were all in disbelief, then turned on the TV and there it was. Shocking.

[quote] Twenty-eight years later, and it's as if she is still with us.

No, I'd say she's still pretty dead.

I wasn’t really a big fan who followed her every move, but I did watch the wedding in ‘81 and was just so used to her being in the news from that day on. I couldn’t believe it when she died. Cried like a big baby all through the funeral service and still remember how incredibly sad that day was.

Does anyone know how the Royals are trained/groomed not to show emotion? I know Brits have stiff upper lips and all, but how did her sons not break down walking behind her coffin? I guess it’s ingrained in them from the get-go, but I’ve wondered if there is some structured training method used.

I walked behind my mother’s coffin and there was no way for me to keep the tears away.

Ethereal.

[quote]Twenty-eight years later, and it's as if she is still with us. [quote]No, I'd say she's still pretty dead.

[quote]—Charles III

Charles lll—the Never Truly Alive

Like she never left us OP? Without the daily paparazzi shot she was gone with the wind. I was a little stunned by how quickly the world was over it.

R50 look up "emotional neglect." Also, see "child abuse," "dysfunctional family," and "stunted development."

That's my favorite photo of them, R51. They both look so happy.

Yes, r55. They practically look like other people!

I suspect I would have found her annoying if I’d known her, but her death saddened me. She seemed on the brink of moving on as a still young woman who’d lost over a decade due to a pretty shitty bait and switch. And then she was dead.

After 9/11 I was struck by a story that emphasized how the passengers and crew of flight 93 were remarkable not for their obvious physical bravery, but for being able to collect the small amount of information that was available at the time and process it and take action. They understood and were brave enough NOT to go along with the established tradition of being captive highjack victims and cooperating and hoping. They made the different choice and had the guts to make it for the whole plane even though they had no way of being 100% sure they wouldn’t land safely if they did as they were told. It didn’t work out for them, but they may have saved a lot of people.

For me, Diana’s actions with AIDS patients are in a similar vein. Maybe not so much brave, but I believe her compassion was real. It’s easy to look back and forget how much fear, disgust, and lack of clear information there was at the time. Yeah, she probably enjoyed the attention and got good press. And probably knew the press would be good. But she thought to do it. And it made a difference. I don’t think I would have thought to act like that in 1987 even if I was a celebrity.

Very well put R57; I think she had an instinctive response to people who were suffering that you just can't fake (and god knows plenty have tried).

I recall being in the hospital with my mom & there was a man dying of AIDS, covered sores and it was not a pretty sight. An instinctual response was to draw away, not embrace that person, so that she did it with compassion says a lot about her. She was no doubt completely impossible on a regular basis, but that woman had her moments.

[quote]I guess it was a combo of her being young, having 2 young sons, press hounding her that caused the crash, finally being free from a marriage where she wasn't wanted.

She relentlessly courted the press. This is well documented. The press were there because of her actions and, even if they weren't, there was absolutely no need to speed away from him, much less while she was been driven by a drunk her loser boyfriend hired.

[quote]She was beautiful. Charles was a fool.

Beauty isn't everything. Virtually everyone acknowledges, now that the hysteria has subsided, that she would likely have been a needy nightmare to live with.

[quote]. When you think of someone who made a difference and changed the world, Diana is at the top of the list and will never be forgotten.

I can think of a few others that might be above her: Pasteur, Mandela, Gorbachev, Edison.....

I think DataLounge and Harry and Meghan's residence are the only places on earth where the cult of Diana survives.

That's the day my husband and I met for the first time down in a coffee shop in the Village called Le Gamin. He had a cappuccino and I didn't now how to tell him it was all over his upper lip as he was talking to me. We talked for hours. He invited me to his apartment. I brought over this hystercial new show someone gave me on VHS - South Park. We watched it, laughed at the same things, shared a bottle of wine and spent the entire night together just to learn Princess Diana died while SNL was on. Wigstock was the next day.

r60 which one of you bottomed?

A top would tell someone that they cappuccino foam on their upper lip, r61. A timid bottom would stare at that foam for an hour without speaking up.

R61 we didn't fuck. Just making out and blowjobs.

And when I say Diana was homely, she was pretty but very plain Jane. The type of face that doesn’t age well. She was cute and dainty and certainly not ugly, but a million thin white women who take care of themselves look like that.

I wonder if she would have had work done.

Kidos, OP, you keep her name correctly. Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of an Earl, married up, the heir to a kingdom. Styled as The Princess of Wales (and unused, The Princess Charles... again a style, not a U.K. title), I sometimes wonder had things not turned out as they did, with all the good work Diane did and the public adoration, would HM have Letters Patent issued granting her royal status? A truePrincess of the U.K. HM did that for Philip, but then he already was a prince, another country. Diana was a commoner, but could be made royal. One of the earlier Dukes married a commoner, she was made royal. No matter, today Diana is loved, and in the hearts of many is a princess.

Definitely, R65 -- I read that she was very vain, scrutinizing all pics of her in the papers, magazines, etc. and would have hissy fits galore if she didn't, in her eyes, look good enough. It would have been a shame to see her looking freakish as the decades rolled by, by getting "work" done.

Despite that big honker, she looked distinctive with it and lso had pretty blue eyes, and a great smile albeit big teeth. I'd hardly call her plain/homely though as a couple posters did.

Anyway, how she hooked up with stupid pudgy Dodi is beyond me --- there were plenty of rich attractive men she could have dallied with.

Dodi was really to blame for that crash--why the fuck did he insist on them speeding like that? It isn't as if they hadn't been photographed together before---and who could see anything through a tinted window? She was particularly used to the media chasing her---and sometimes even encouraged it.

I always thought she was stunning….for a woman reading the weather report in a medium-sized Midwestern city.

Diana did a lot for AIDS awareness at a time when AIDS was such a stigmatized disease. This photo is from 1987. The simple act of shaking hands with a person who had AIDS spoke volumes and helped change public opinion.

8/31 is my birthday, I remember it well when it happened.

The driver was drunk and on medication, r67. He really wasn't equipped to drive a hulking car at 100 mph through a major city. And as we all know, Diana wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

To be honest the most shocking thing about her death was the overwhelming reaction. I personally didn't really care about the British Royal family, and had no idea Princess Diana hadn't rather worn out her welcome with the public.

I thought she was just this privileged divorceé who didn't ever interest me much to start with.

I guess I gad taken my thumb off the pulse of the public, huh?

*had

damn typos!

I too expected some response to her death but nothing like what happened. She was in danger of becoming a pest at the time she died, but she hadn’t quite reached that stage yet. Mainly it was her youth and the shock of it.

It was gratifying Elizabeth IiI’s death provoked an even bigger response despite her extreme age.

[quote][R60] which one of you bottomed?

Both.

I honestly think JFK Jr dying the year prior made her death, I don’t know if want to say more tragic or the story bigger, but it was just something about an innocence lost, I imagine for a large swath of Western adults. Like in the 60s the icons died by murder and mayhem. We hadn’t had “young” people die so suddenly in a while— completely by freak accidents. They were honestly bigger than most of the movie stars of their generation.

I remember that the night it happened I was at a friend's apartment and we were taking shirtless photos of each other with his fancy camera to send to guys on the AOL M4M chatrooms!

Omg he dies two years after her. Omg. Omg. The Mandela Effect. Why do I remember him dying first.

[quote]I honestly think JFK Jr dying the year prior made her death, I don’t know if want to say more tragic or the story bigger

Huh? Are you on meth?

JFK Jr. died almost two years AFTER Princess Diana's death, are you nuts?

I know I’m r78 and I realized. I was only a kid. So sorry. 😣

She was no great beauty but sh had style and charisma like no one else.

I was only 8 years old at the time and on a camping trip with my dad and uncle being a disappointment as a son. We called my mom on a payphone to let her know we were on our way home and she told us Princess Diana had died. I didn't even know who that was or what it meant but I suddenly burst into tears and became obsessed with her. I peppered my dad with questions the whole way home and cried probably two or three more times.

That week I cut out pictures of her from my mother's special edition People magazine and put them in picture frames that I hung on my bedroom wall. A weeks later, I learned all the lyrics to 'Candle in the Wind' and sung it in the 3rd grade talent show with my hand over my heart like I was saying the pledge of allegiance. My teacher, Mrs. Hanson, called it a touching tribute.

^*a few weeks later

R82 My god now wonder you’re date hated you. You were the original fangurl Stan. Exhausting.

You all wanna know how beloved Diana was?

Probably around 10 years ago there was the Diana remembrance tour or something. It was all about her life and work with some of her clothes and other memorabilia that was touring the US.

There were ads for it everywhere. My arrow straight, tobacco chewing red neck brother asked if I would take him to see it (he didn’t want to go alone and he didn’t want to drive downtown).

I was stunned. He had never mentioned being interested in any of the royals and I can’t recall him ever talking about Diana, but he wanted to see the exhibit, so we went.

He was completely engrossed with the exhibit. I couldn’t believe he was so interested in her and her work. I had always admired her, but I had no idea he did, too.

She touched a lot of lives. Some in big ways, and some in small.

R64 "She was cute and dainty "

"Dainty"? Don't no-one think that!

Diana will be remembered like Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Cleopatra.

R85. Crucially, what you described happened in the US.