IS IT CELEBRATION... OR EXPLOITATION?
Is Princess Diana as sacred to you as she is to me? For many of us of a certain age, Lady Di is sort of, well, everything! She’s the mirror we hold up to see our innermost hopes, fears and dreams, along with the excitement of endless possibilities. I’m always up for a chat about Diana – her charity work, my favourite dress, that infamous interview, how she was right and they were wrong ... I’m 100 per cent invested. She’s OUR Diana, OUR princess, OUR friend.
So how is it that 20-odd years after her death, the fascination with Our Diana and her legacy is reaching a fever pitch with everybody else? Kristen Stewart’s movie Spencer deep dives into Diana’s tortured psyche, The Crown is having a field day with the rise and fall of the People’s Princess, even Broadway (and Netflix!) is playing Diana: The Musical – featuring an all-singing, all-dancing Queen, Charles and Camilla. Excuse me, people, but I think you should move along and get your own friend!
While I understand the intoxicating allure of Diana, is it selfish of me to want to keep her all to myself and to those of us who’ve ALWAYS loved her? What I’d really like to say is: “Sorry, y’all, but the Dianamania bandwagon is full and we’re not taking reservations!”
For us Diana-philes, she wasn’t a victim. She was a charismatic, strong, brilliant woman who may have had a moment or two of self-pity, but who could blame her? Sure, she had problems, but who doesn’t? She was doing the best she could under extreme circumstances. So, if you happen to be one of those wretched cynics who claim she was mad as a cut snake or a manipulative minx, please go sit on the other side of the bus because I won’t hear it.
I only hope that history (and Hollywood) doesn’t destroy the fabulous legacy she left behind.
Follow Richard on Instagram @the_richardreid and Twitter @Rreidshollywood