Conspiracy theories aside, Diana died because the French were either too mean or too stupid to fit guard rails along the pillars in the tunnel (whatever).

Instead of the car sliding harmlessly along a rail it dug into a pillar; simple as that.

I remember watching on television as two bereft young boys
flanked by their visibly shocked father, grandfather,
and uncle, took the hardest steps of their life, honouring
their adored mother who lay in the coffin before them.
It was such a heartbreaking spectacle.

Look at the effect her death had on the usually reserved
British nation. Who can forget the ocean of flowers, the
crowds that came to pay homage. The wailing in the
streets. Forcing the British monarch
to fly the flag at half mast, and appear on television to
make a speech to show she did care. Who can forget the
speech her brother made in Westminster Abbey and the
thunderous applause that followed both outside and inside
the Abbey.

Princess Diana was an extraordinary luminous character.
She leaves an unfillable gap on the world stage. She was
brilliant at moving between two worlds and she did it so
well and with such panache. She had a tenderness that
was extra-ordinary. Hopefully, her children have inherited
some of her traits - and will turn out to be the caring,
normal, and
decent human beings that she tried to raise.

RIP Princess Diana - you are missed greatly.

Is Mise I'm curious, I hear what your saying. I wonder IF there was a conspiracy to end the union of these two, would their death not have happened in some other place or way?

Foxy, it seems you may be one of the romantics or dreamers I spoke of. I was not smitten or besotted or any other emotion over Diana. I simply saw a naive child who did not have a grasp on reality or the 'real' world. People can OOOOH and AAAAH as much as they like, she was not royal material and that's that. The way she carried on over her interaction with the Palace and the Queen were disgusting as only some whiny, whinging spoilt brat would carry on. She and she alone brought disgrace to the Palace. Charles for his part was an idiot we all agree but I give him some space because after all did not his great Uncle do the exact same thing with that American maggot? Anyway the main reason Diana was so popular, apart from her looks, was that she came across as a shy, sweet little two or three year old, and who doesn't love children of that age group?

Dear ALTRAV,

Princess Diana was a Spencer. A family of British nobility.
With Royal Ancestry. Her father was - John Spencer - Viscount
Althorp, 8th Earl of Spencer - She was Lady Diana Spencer. And
during her marriage Diana was Princess of Wales, Duchess
of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay and Countess of Chester.

There were many reasons for Princess Diana's popularity.
Apart from being a very caring and giving person she
developed an intense interest in serious illnesses and
health-related matters outside the purview of traditional
royal involvement, including AIDS, Leprosy, Cancer,
Mental Illness. She campaigned in the fight against
landmines, homeless youth, drug addiction and the rights of
the elderly. She was celebrated for her charity work.
She was involved with dozens of charities and raised millions
of pounds for them. She was the first royal to shake hands
and give hugs to AIDS patients - thereby dispelling many
myths surrounding the disease.

I could go on as I am obviously a great admirer of the late
Princess and have read the very interesting, and intensely
well researched (and an unputdownable read) by Tina Brown,
"The Diana Chronicles." But I don't want to bore you.

You wrote in quite unflattering terms about one of the
last century's most influential women - Wallis The Duchess
of Windsor. There's a fascinating book by Charles Higham
" Wallis: Secret Lives of the Duchess of Windsor," that
may give you a different perception of her.

Foxy, as you say 'you are obviously a great admirer of Diana'. Well I'm not! I spoke of her as a commoner and a child because that is how she presented. All these 'things' you say she has done are all part of the job. I am not disputing that because I do know her history and her 'work'. She chose, instead to 'cherry pick', like a small child and do the things she liked and reject the others. Well you can dream on like the rest of your elk but in the 'real' world she took on a job and all that goes with it, boring husband and all, and I and millions of on-lookers expected her to 'suck it up' and get on with it, not act like a love struck teenager. I and so many others I came across were totally dumbfounded as to her antics after leaving Charles. She singlehandedly destroyed what little 'cred' she had left and any self esteem with it. So you and the rest of her followers keep that candle burning by all means, but remember it's still only a candle.