‘Diana understood people so well’
The singer, Sinitta, now an ambassador for the Diana Award, first met Princess Diana in the early Nineties when they became friends at the gym. “Diana was warm beyond her years and understood people so well. I remember being a young, single woman, worried about finding the right person and she told me, ‘be kind to yourself and choose the one who truly loves you, not the one you truly wish did.’ “She used to bring her boys to the club to play tennis in their tennis whites, looking all tall and handsome and I loved how she guided them gently with her hands in their hair and on their heads. They seemed to melt under her touch and I thought what a brilliant mum she was. “My favourite picture is of her holding the tiny baby with AIDS. I knew from that moment that I would love and admire her forever. “I think Diana would be so proud of Kindness Day. The only other person I can think of in the same way as her is Mother Teresa and while Diana was part of a completely different world, they had the same heart. The Diana you saw in pictures was exactly the same as the person I saw in the gym each morning. She was such a strong woman who loved all people.”