10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death marked
Updated: 2007-08-31 20:25
Bishop Chartres, who was also a target of Monckton's attack, called for an end to the sniping.
"Still 10 years after her tragic death, there are regular reports of 'fury' at this or that incident and the princess' memory is used for scoring points. Let it end here," Chartres said. "Let this service mark the point at which we let her rest in peace and dwell on her memory with thanksgiving and compassion."
 A man listens to music outside the gates of Kensington Palace, former residence of the late Princess Diana, on the tenth anniversary of her death, London, August 31, 2007. [Reuters] |
A few hundred people gathered outside -- a smaller crowd than the masses that lined the route of Diana's funeral procession to Westminster Abbey.
"She reached our lives deeply, even in America. She brought life to the palace and warmth, and that's what the monarchy needed," said Arlene Fitch, 54, of Boston.
Diana "got married the same year as me, she had children the same year as me and, as her boys have grown up, they have done just the same kind of things as our boys would do," said Fitch's sister, Marie Schofield, 46, from Florida.
The Rev. Frank Gelli, who has led an informal service outside Kensington Palace every year, said this probably would be the last.
"It would be good if the princess was allowed to rest," he told a reporter.
Eileen Neathey, 56, of London, recalled a chance encounter with Diana at a hospital, where Neathey's mother was a patient.
"I had been up all night and was very upset, and when I bumped into Diana, I burst into tears," said Neathey, outside Kensington Palace. "She put her arm round me and comforted me -- that's the way she was."
John Loughrey, 52, had painted "Diana" on his forehead and "the truth?" on his cheek. "We must get to the bottom of how she died," he said.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were among the 500 people in the chapel. Prince Edward, Charles' younger brother, and his sister, Princess Anne, also were there, as were Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former prime minister John Major and Tony Blair, and representatives of 110 charities Diana supported.
Sir Elton John came, but did not perform. His reworking of "Candle in the Wind," was a poignant moment for many at Diana's funeral.
Mohamed al Fayed, who accused Prince Philip of masterminding a plot to kill Diana and Dodi Fayed, was not on the guest list. He observed his own two minutes of silence at Harrods, his department store, an hour before the memorial service. However, his daughter, Camilla al Fayed, did attend the official service.
"There's definitely something more to it than meets the eye, and I think Mr. al Fayed is probably right that the government were involved," said Alison Wormall, 46, who traveled from central England to join the observance at Harrods.
In Paris, dozens of emotional visitors came stopped by a gold-colored statue of a flame over the bustling roadway tunnel where Diana died.
"I came to pray for her," said artist Francine Reulier, 56, who knelt quietly for several minutes at the base of the statue, which has become a makeshift shrine.
"Many of us in France feel a bit guilty for not having protected her," she said, remembering how she awoke to the news of Diana's death on her alarm-clock radio a decade ago. "I still get chills, I still cry about it -- the raw horror of it all."
A poll commissioned by Channel 4 television in Britain found that 25 percent of the public believes Diana was murdered, but 59 percent thought it was an accident. The telephone poll of 1,016 adults conducted this week had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The royal family, which clearly was caught by surprise by a national tidal wave of grief 10 years ago, had refrained from any public remembrance of the anniversary of the princess' death.
This year, however, William and Harry took the lead in organizing the memorial service, as well as a rock concert on Diana's birthday, July 1, which drew 70,000 paying fans.
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