Diana was an example to live by, says star Jamie
HOLLYWOOD star Jamie Lee Curtis has paid an emotional tribute to Princess Diana on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death, calling her “an example to live by”.
She posted a photograph of Diana on Instagram and told how they came close to meeting in 1997, the year the Princess was killed in a car crash, but missed each other because the star went to the toilet.
Jamie Lee, who gained the title Lady when her husband Christopher Guest inherited his grandfather's peerage in 1996, wrote: “I ‘met' her Royal Highness Princess Diana when I was shooting the sequel to A Fish Called Wanda. The truth is I didn't meet her. She was to visit our set deep in the gardens of Pinewood Studios with her children and we waited for her all morning.
“Then when we took a break midday, I raced via golf cart to my dressing room to use the rest room.
“While I was in there someone came knocking on my door saying that Princess Diana and her children had arrived on set.
“As I raced back in the golf cart they were walking away."
Jamie Lee, 58, then wrote to the Princess “explaining my nature break and how disappointed I was not to tell her, in person, how much I admired her”. She said: “A hand delivered letter from Kensington Palace, on her stationery, came the next day thanking me for mine and understanding completely the need for nature to take its course.
“We exchanged a hope that would get to meet in the future.
“Later that summer I heard about her shocking death.
“I remember turning off the television set.
‘I picked up a book on meditation, which was next to my bed, by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfeld.
“It said that at the time of death, people who try to live mindfully ask we themselves only two questions. Did I learn to live wisely? Did I love well?”
“I thought about her and her life and the choices she made and how brave she was.
“How she reached out to that young man with Aids before anyone did, the minefields, mental health and so much more and how much she loved her children… the image of them running into her outstretched arms after a long trip.”
The actress said it gave her comfort “that although Diana's life was short, it was complete”.
“She was a great role model for me,” she said. “An example to live by. I honour her this day.”