Diana made us more caring

Balloon girl who touched our art

A BANKSY mural has topped a poll of the nation’s favourite art, beating more traditional works. Balloon Girl, which the street artist sprayed on an East London shop wall in 2002, tipped John Constable’s The Hay Wain into second place and saw off a Turner and a Stubbs. Some critics have been rather snotty about this, but the British public clearly relate more to modern art than bucolic 19th century oil paintings. It can be THE film Princes William and Harry made about their mother’s life, death and legacy clearly brought back painful memories, as well as the happy ones they cherish.

Watching it this week took me back too because I covered the seismic news event, in Paris and in London, 20 years ago.

The footage of sobbing crowds and that sea of flowers outside Kensington Palace reminded my how shocked I’d felt – not just at Diana’s untimely death but by the unprecedented display of public mourning.

I found it mawkish and embarrassing... a sort of mass hysteria.

Why were people with no personal connection to one rich privileged woman weeping and wailing in the streets?

Outside Westminster Abbey before Diana’s funeral the souvenirs were more surreal.

I still have a T-shirt, pictured, I bought at the time which reads: “Born a princess, died a saint.”

The British stiff upper lip was quivering like never before – and I found it deeply perplexing.

I wasn’t alone. A survey on the tenth anniversary of the fatal Paris car crash revealed 37 per cent of people thought the public grieving had been excessive.

But I’ve had two decades to ponder the “Diana Effect” – and many debates with people who still worship her.

And while I’m sure there was some ghoulish grief tourism back in 1997, I do think her death helped alter the national psyche.

It coincided with a shift in attitudes after 18 years of Tory government – we got New Labour a nd a more r e l a x e d, compassionate Cool Britannia. Diana’s compassioni on and informality had touched ed people too, and her willingness to reveal her vulnerabilities.

If a future Queen n could “emote” in public then so could the millions who relatedd to her difficult childhood, herer eating disorder or her husband’ssband’s affair.

Shortly before her death we’d seen her grieving ng for friend Gianni Versace ersace and comforting ing a weeping Elton John at t he f ashion hion designer’s funeral.eral.

Diana was an e motional nal touchstone who made people feel they could grieve eve publicly too.

Twenty yearsars on, it has becomeome second nature to gather er and show our emotions after tragedies such as the London a nd Manchester t e r r or attacks or the Grenfell disaster.

Prince Harry said hisis mother “had the ability to change the mindset of millions upon millions of people”. He was talking about her campaign against landmines, mines, which led to a UN ban, but she changed soo much more than that.

As the touching TV show proved, Diana’s sons have inherited her natural compassion and empathy. They strive to change mindsets too through their admirablee mental health campaigns.

That’s a memorable le legacy we all should cherish.