The Death of a Princess…
VOCABULARY
I honestly thought that by writing an article about the death of Princess Diana this weekend, I would be one of the first to do so. It is almost four weeks before the exact date when she was killed in a car crash in the Alma Tunnel, in Paris, twenty years ago. How wrong could I have been! The newspapers are already full of stories about the accident, the conspiracy theories and the short life of the beautiful princess.
Even twenty years later, many people can’t understand what happened in the week following Princess Diana’s death on August 31, 1997 and why there was such an outpouring of grief like we had never experienced before – from people all over the world who had never even met her. There will be many tributes to Diana especially from her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who have turned out very well (apart from a couple of Harry’s escapades) considering all that they have been through. Even though their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, had asked them not to speak so openly about their feelings and concentrate more on royal duties, the princes were not going to let this day, which will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, go by unnoticed.
The princes made a documentary to "celebrate their mother’s life", which was broadcast in England a week last Monday. It was a very moving tribute from the two young men when they spoke with raw emotion about their childhood memories and the love and humour from their mother, Princess Diana. They admitted that hardly a day goes by without them thinking of their mother and the wonderful, naughty upbringing she gave them. They told how she smothered them with love as she tried to let them have as much fun as possible outside the strict protocol of the royal family. Prince William spoke about how he felt his mother’s presence at his wedding to Catherine and what a wonderful grandmother she would have been to Prince George, four, and Princess Charlotte, two, whose middle name is Diana. He said that he reminds them of "Granny Diana" when putting them to bed and there are photographs of his mother all over the house.
In the documentary, the princes spoke very openly about their feelings but made it quite clear that it is the last time that they will do so. They spoke about the last phone call they had had with their mother on the night she died. They were on holiday with their cousins at Balmoral Castle, the Queen’s summer residence, and having "a wonderful time" when Diana rang. Like most children they did not enjoy talking to their parents on the phone and were, in the words of Prince William, "just in a desperate hurry to say goodbye". That phone call has haunted the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry for the past twenty years as it was the last time they spoke to their mother before she died. They both said that they would regret it for the rest of their lives, but William was only 15 at the time and Harry 12.
The princes also expressed their grief at having to follow Princess Diana’s coffin on a horse-drawn carriage to the Cathedral. The images still haunt the two young men as do the images of the sea of flowers in front of Kensington Palace and the millions of people sobbing along the way. Prince Harry revealed that the first time he cried was at a private funeral service on an island at Althorp House, Northamptonshire, Diana’s family home, where her body is laid to rest.
As Althorp House is quite near to where my family home is, in England, I plan to go there to pay my respects to the "Peoples’ Princess" and remember the beautiful woman who, at the age of 36, died far too young. to commemorate sth. – etw. gedenken How wrong could I have been! – Welch ein Irrtum! outpouring of grief – eine Welle der Trauer to experience – erfahren, erleben to turn out very well – sehr wohlgeraten apart from – abgesehen von considering – wenn man bedenkt royal duties – königliche Verpflichtungen to let sth. go by unnoticed – etw. unbeachtet vorbeigehen lassen to broadcast – im TV übertragen a week last Monday – vorletzten Montag moving – berührend raw emotion – reine Emotion childhood memories – Kindheits– erinnerungen to admit – zugeben hardly a day goes by – es vergeht kaum ein Tag naughty upbringing – hier: spielerische Erziehung to smother with love – mit Liebe überhäufen strict – streng presence – Anwesenheit to remind sbd. – jmd. erinnern to put sbd. to bed – jmd. schlafen legen desperate – verzweifelt hurry – Eile to haunt sbd. – jmd. verfolgen to regret – bedauern to express – ausdrücken coffin – Sarg horse-drawn carriage – Pferdekutsche to sob – schluchzen to reveal – enthüllen funeral service – Trauerzeremonie to pay one’s respects – Respekt zollen