Diana Memorial Service and Concert, 2007

[Eric_Lowe]

Diana's spirit of reaching out has survived while the old indifference and stiff upper lip has gone out of fashion. It was also shown on her furneral and people of such diversity marched that day.

[Charity]

Indeed. As time proved, Diana's lesson was learnt by today's royals. As a result, it became more in tune with the people's expectatations. I am a fan of hers, but understood there were flaws in her charecter. However Diana did have a powerful message and sadly it took her death to realise many of the changes. Just as today in America under Barack Obama, Diana's message was to get involved and help people around the world (Aids, landmines, leprosy, family problems), and become a positive force for good.

There has always been an expectation by the masses that the "upper classes" do good works and contribute to charity, this is nothing new!  Sure, there were many who do/did it only for their own positive publicity, but there were/are a some very caring and conscientious members of the aristocracy and royal families who reached out, got involved and became a positive force for good.

Diana did not change the world, she just added her bit to it.  That is not to say her bit wasnt' fantastic, but putting her on such a high pedestal is wrong.   

[Marie-Catherine]

As a 6 years old kid, I was probably running naked aroung the lake.

[Mari]

Indeed. As time proved, Diana's lesson was learnt by today's royals. As a result, it became more in tune with the people's expectatations. I am a fan of hers, but understood there were flaws in her charecter. However Diana did have a powerful message and sadly it took her death to realise many of the changes. Just as today in America under Barack Obama, Diana's message was to get involved and help people around the world (Aids, landmines, leprosy, family problems), and become a positive force for good.

Charity said: :"Diana did not change the world, she just added her bit to it.  That is not to say her bit wasnt' fantastic, but putting her on such a high pedestal is wrong."

What high Pedestal are you talking about? He said She helped People around the World...and she did...All those things, Aids, Landmines etc. were pointed out to the World in higher detail.... because Diana... shocked first by shaking the hand of an Aids Victim without gloves on and made them human. She walked out in gear among an area known to have land mines and sat with a child that had lost its leg. Who else of the Royal Family do you know that did that back then? Its impossible to deny the good that She did! People noticed her every move and she used that and was starting to use it more and more for good things...to make us all aware and to raise money for these causes! She did not just add her bit to it...she was not just attending flower shows saying benign things like "beautiful weather we're having here" stuff! She had her faults but lets not deny that She was the most photographed Woman in the World and her every action plastered on the front page of something and She had begun more and more to find herself and use it to help others. 

[Charity]

The high pedestal that some people insist she changed the world, that nobody else reached out as far as Diana did, nor were as caring as her.....

I have not denied the good she did, I acknowledged that good, Mari!!  However, reading the comments of some posters it is plainly obvious that she is put on a pedestal that she herself did not want.  She wanted the recognition for her work as we all do, but she didn't want to be considered some sort of angel.  She knew as well as the rest of us that she wasn't.  "Doing my bit..." were her words, though unfortunately I can't at the moment publish a source for you for that comment. 

[Imperial_Grounds]

The high pedestal that some people insist she changed the world, that nobody else reached out as far as Diana did, nor were as caring as her.....

Ofcourse Diana was no saint, she had her flaws like us all, but her work as humanitarian is, and will be for a long time, seen as great because her popularity among the press and people got the attention for those causes. That is what she wanted, attention for her causes, and she got it. Only for that her humanitarian work can be seen as great. Also her work for people with AIDS, Lepra and landmines showed she had great outreach. Those things were never spoken of among the masses before, she got people into action. And because of her those people still fight for those causes.

The Aristocratic and Royal classes wouldn't have done that back then, they wouldn't have imagined, but then Diana, also an Aristocrat, came and 'shocked' them. But see what it did to the masses, usualy people from the Aristocratic classes or Royal family would never get out there as she did, they did their kind of work and got involved but never in a way as Diana did. That is her legacy, or part of it.

[Eric_Lowe]

Well said ! Diana did broke new grounds in Aids. Her gloveless shakes changed many minds about how the diesese can be transmitted. She did not only "did her bit". She changed minds and shown that she with her popularity can change the world. That is not to say that she was a saint, she had her flaws, but what she did in her position was quite amazing. Compared with Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, the scope of her charity work raised the standards globally. Princess Anne also did good works, but she could never comfort the children of leopsy, Aids and landmines the way Diana did. She gave them her heart, and there is a difference.

[alixaannencova]

I often wonder why those who appear to still worship Diana have not transferred some of their adoration to Katherine Kent?

If one looks closely, Katherine Kent could have been an exemplar that Diana could have observed and learnt from during the difficult years. I wonder if Diana ever shared her problems with Katherine? If any one could have related to her emotional troubles and state of mind, especially with regards to the way she, Diana was being marginalized within the family, Katherine Kent was the obvious candidate.

[Olga Maria]

Well said ! Diana did broke new grounds in Aids. Her gloveless shakes changed many minds about how the diesese can be transmitted. She did not only "did her bit". She changed minds and shown that she with her popularity can change the world. That is not to say that she was a saint, she had her flaws, but what she did in her position was quite amazing. Compared with Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, the scope of her charity work raised the standards globally. Princess Anne also did good works, but she could never comfort the children of leopsy, Aids and landmines the way Diana did. She gave them her heart, and there is a difference.

Yes, Diana had a "more exceptional touch" on people unlike those whom you mentioned above, Eric.
That's what made her a sensational princess. She can sweep everybody's feet from the ground as well as extend utter benevolence to people encircling her (especially the helpless).

I often wonder why those who appear to still worship Diana have not transferred some of their adoration to Katherine Kent?

If one looks closely, Katherine Kent could have been an exemplar that Diana could have observed and learnt from during the difficult years. I wonder if Diana ever shared her problems with Katherine? If any one could have related to her emotional troubles and state of mind, especially with regards to the way she, Diana was being marginalized within the family, Katherine Kent was the obvious candidate.

Who's Katherine Kent by the way? Sorry for asking you, alixaannencova. I can do the research myself but I have no time reading it. thank you.
I think she's of noble birth, too.

[Eric_Lowe]

Katheine Kent is the Duchess of Kent. Born Katherine Worsley, she married Edward, Duke of Kent, cousin to the Queen. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (Edward's mother) was against the match due to the differences of the backgrounds, but also Katherine's ability to cope with Royal life. The marriage produced three children, but the couple grew apart. Katherine retreated herself and suffered a breakdown. She did not divorce her husband (due to loyalty to the Queen), but sought solace in good works and religion. Diana had a rapport with "Caring Kate" and "loved her to bits".She genuinely felt sorry for the older woman, who in turn became her only friend in the Royal Family.

[GoldenPen]

I was still in grade school at the time, one of the teachers came in my class and started to cried, Very sad.

Truly, GoldenPen

[Eric_Lowe]

It was a great waste, she could have done so much more good (charity work).

[Olga Maria]

Thanks for that, Sir Eric! She (Katherine) also suffered terribly in the royal family's side due to her backgrounds.

[Charity]

Uh, no, she did not suffer terribly in the royal family due to her background, IngridAlexie!

Katherine Kent unfortunately suffered severe depression after the loss of a child (stillborn), and also suffered from coeliac disease for a long time before it was diagnosed.  She is a dignified lady who made no public issue of her troubles and as such, gained a lot of respect and devotion from many people.   

[alixaannencova]

I have never been aware of any issues over the Duchess of Kent's background, although  I can see that Princess Marina may have been a little disappointed to have had a mere baronet's daughter as her son's wife! Especially with Marina's issues with Cookie and Alice Gloucester in the past! But I am sure that after a few years, even Marina must have seen the amazing qualities Katherine possesses.

Furthermore, Katherine Kent has all but dropped the use of HRH since the early nineties, before Diana relinquished her style and precedence. To her pupils the Duchess is/was simply Mrs Kent which I think absolutely wonderful! Invariably the Duchess seems to prefer not to use her style and precedence in any situation other the grandest of official ones.

I have always had a soft spot for the Duchess of Kent, never has she complained and she has always maintained a serene dignity. Hints about the way some members of the RF reacted to her (Katherine's) illnesses left me furious for a while. I still get angry when I remember the assumptions that she was shirking her duties in the eighties. Interestingly enough though, the press always seems to have been half in love with Katherine Kent and in return for their respect of her privacy, she has been quite generous over the years, giving various interviews and continuing to be approachable, even to them. I know for a fact that Fleet street had an inkling about her teaching job, long before it was made into a story proper. It is such a shame that she couldn't have guided Diana in some way to find a niche without having to descend into a dangerous game of courting the press etc, and perhaps found another way out. I wonder sometimes at the Duchess of Kent's ingenious balancing act of discretion, loyalty and independence!!!!


Sorry I have gone off thread, but it does strike me that Katherine Kent dealt with her difficulties in a way from which Diana could have learnt so much!!!!