From the appearance of unexpected A-list guests to what has been later referred to as one of
the greatest speeches in British history, here's all that you didn't know
about Princess Diana's funeral. With only six days between Princess Diana's death and her funeral, there wasn't
much time for Palace and government officials to plan the details. The public outpouring
of grief raised the stakes even further. "There's no room for movement here now – the
people simply packed one upon the other." Plans have already been made for the funerals and
ceremonies of some royals. According to Town and Country, preparations for Queen Elizabeth’s
II death started in the 1960s when she was only in her forties. Each person's plan has its
own code name. For example, when Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died on April 9, 2021,
Operation Forth Bridge went into action. Elizabeth II's death plan was codenamed
London Bridge. The one for her father, George VI, who died in 1952, was named Hyde
Park Corner, after a particular spot in a park close to Buckingham Palace. Reportedly, King
Charles’ III plan is codenamed Menai Bridge. The plan used when Diana died was nicknamed
Tay Bridge, in honor of a bridge in Dundee, Scotland. It's not because she had a particular
connection to Scotland. Her death was so sudden that there was no plan in place. Instead, the
organizers used one that had been put together for another member of the royal family: Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother was very much alive at the time, although she
would die five years later at the age of 101. Which meant she had the unnerving experience
of witnessing aspects of her own funeral. In the aftermath of Princess Diana's death,
Queen Elizabeth II was accused of coldness towards the famously warm princess. The empty
flagpole at Buckingham Palace became a focal point. Until then, the only flag that ever flew
over the palace was the flag of the monarch, the Royal Standard. It was only flown when
the Queen was present and never at half-mast, since the monarch is either present or not: they
can't be half-present. When one monarch dies, the flag immediately transfers
to the heir, to show continuity. When the Queen was away, the Buckingham Palace
flagpole was left empty. In the days after Diana's death, she was with her bereaved grandsons
at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. However, the public felt that the Palace was
snubbing Diana, according to the BBC. On the day of Diana's funeral, the Queen
broke centuries of protocol to honor her ex-daughter-in-law. After the Queen left for
the funeral, the Standard was taken down and the Union Flag — the national flag of the
United Kingdom — was flown at half-mast. Since that day, the Union Flag has flown at
Buckingham Palace when the Queen is not in residence. The Queen authorized the flying of the
Union Flag at half-mast on the first anniversary of Diana's funeral. She went on to repeat the
gesture of respect to mark several other periods of national mourning, including the terrorist
attacks on September 11, 2001, and July 7, 2005. For many onlookers, the most heart-wrenching image from Princess Diana's
funeral was the sight of her two sons, William and Harry, walking
behind their mother's coffin. "This is the moment that people have
been, if not looking forward to, looking forward to with some
dread in their hearts, really." They were accompanied by their father, then-Prince
Charles; Diana's brother Charles, Earl Spencer; and their paternal grandfather,
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who joined as moral support for his grandsons.
Earl Spencer later described the walk as, quote, "the most horrifying half hour
of my life," adding that it must have been so much worse for Prince William and
Harry. He said that he was told that the brothers chose to walk with the coffin,
and that Diana would not have wanted it. The brothers disagree somewhat over their role in
the procession. In August 2017, William said in a BBC documentary that it was one of the most
difficult moments of his life. But he added: "There is that balance between duty and
family and that's what we had to do." A few months earlier, Harry had told Newsweek
that he didn't think a child should be asked to walk behind their mother's coffin.
In the BBC documentary, he backtracked, saying that he didn't necessarily think
that it was the right or wrong decision, and that he was pleased that he was
able to take part in the funeral. As the funeral procession passed Buckingham Palace, the Queen, Princess Margaret, and other members of the royal family stood
outside the gate to pay their respects. According to a book by Princess
Diana's biographer Andrew Morton, the Queen bowed her head low as the coffin passed:
but her sister Margaret barely nodded. Morton also claimed that right before the procession reached
them, while they were waiting by the gates, Margaret was trying to talk to the
Queen about improving the bathrooms at Kensington Palace — the nearby home where she
and Diana had once lived in adjacent apartments. The early days of Margaret and Diana's
relationship didn't predict this level of coldness. Margaret could relate to Diana's
tumultuous experience with the British press: she had once been the royal that most often
drew the attention of the paparazzi. But Margaret's loyalty above all was to the Queen
and the Crown. When Diana broke the cardinal unwritten rule in the royal handbook with a
tell-all interview on the BBC show "Panorama," Margaret immediately turned on her. Even Diana's
death wasn't enough to calm the furious princess. The royal family was left with a physical expression of the publics' grief
in the form of books of condolence. The books were laid out in St. James' Palace,
where Princess Diana's body was also being kept before the funeral, in a private
chapel accessible only to her family. Thousands traveled from across Britain and
joined the lines to write their messages of grief, waiting between six-and-a-half to 12
hours, according to the BBC. By September 5, the day before the funeral, there
were 43 books of condolence and counting. Others had been placed in British
embassies and consulates around the world. According to an article published in the Sunday
Mirror that October, people in other parts of Britain also signed condolence books,
which were sent to Kensington Palace, where all the books were eventually
moved. Others sent their messages of condolence via the internet. According to the
LA Times, the royal family's website received 60,000 virtual messages — not a
lot today, but unheard of in 1997. Following the funeral, CNN reported on rumors that the Palace and Princess
Diana's family the Spencers had clashed over arrangements. Both parties denied this,
with Charles, Earl Spencer, describing the claims as "laughable." However, he did manage
to ruffle a few royal feathers with his eulogy. He started by praising Diana's compassion
and selflessness, while also acknowledging: "You stand tall enough as a human being of unique
qualities not to need to be seen as a saint." Towards the end, Charles criticized
the media, whose relentless pursuit of Diana he believed had caused her
death. He described his sister as, "the most hunted person of the modern
age." In the final section of his speech, Charles promised Diana that her "blood family"
would do everything they could to honor her plans for raising her sons. He went on
to say, as if speaking to her directly: "We fully respect the heritage into
which they have both been born and will always respect and encourage them
in their royal role but we, like you, recognize the need for them to experience
as many different aspects of life." The public listening outside the Abbey erupted
in applause. The speech had been described as one of the greatest in British history. It was also
seen as an accusation that the Palace had tried to metaphorically cage Diana's vibrant spirit.
Charles later claimed that was not his intention, and said that he'd heard that the Queen
asked about the speech, and had replied: "He had every right to say whatever he felt." Both Princess Diana's ex-husband and ex-mother-in-law used their outfits to
pay silent tribute to her at her funeral. Prince Charles broke with the British royal
family's tradition of wearing black mourning clothes by choosing a navy blue suit for
Diana's funeral. To the casual observer, this may have seemed disrespectful. Charles
and Diana had been through a three-year separation culminating in a bitter divorce,
finalized a year before her death. However, Charles' decision to skirt tradition was
actually intended as a nod to his style icon ex-wife. As CBS News reports, the suit Charles
wore to the funeral had been Diana's favorite. Meanwhile, his mother Queen Elizabeth II
used her jewelry to honor Diana. Since she's supposed to be politically neutral,
the Queen is known for subtly broadcasting her thoughts through her wardrobe, particularly
her brooches. For Diana's funeral, she wore one of the Victoria bow brooches: three brooches
shaped like bows and studded with diamonds, commissioned by Queen Victoria. Shortly before
her death, Victoria designated the brooches as heirlooms of the crown, which are passed down
from queen to queen or queen consort. Elizabeth also wore one of the bow brooches on the day she
surpassed Victoria's reign. Perhaps they represent a long line of British queens, including the
Princess of Wales who never made it to the throne. Approximately 2,000 people were invited
to the funeral service inside Westminster Abbey. In addition to members of the royal
family, the guest list for Princess Diana's funeral included global dignitaries, and
some notable names you might not expect. Although Diana didn't officially receive a state
funeral, various countries still sent unofficial representatives. Then-First Lady Hillary Clinton
represented America, as did former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The French President's
wife, Bernadette Chirac, attended on behalf of the country in which Diana had been killed. Then-Prime
Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie attended: The PM gave a reading during the service.
Four former prime ministers also went. So far so predictable. But Diana was also popular
outside stuffy state business. Her funeral was also attended by movie royalty, including
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Sir Richard Attenborough—
best known as John Hammond in "Jurassic Park". "Hello, John." "Hello, John." "Hello." "Hello, John." British entertainers George Michael
and Cliff Richard were also there, as was opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. Of all the musicians who attended Princess Diana's funeral, her friend Elton John
was chosen to perform. Diana and John became fast friends after meeting at Prince Andrew's 21st
birthday party. John said he and Diana enjoyed gossiping together, and they also shared a mutual
interest in promoting AIDS charities. However, that led to a major falling out, when Diana
unexpectedly pulled out of a photobook that would have raised money for the AIDS Foundation, sending
John a cold note with no satisfactory explanation. It took another funeral for
the two to make up — their mutual friend Gianni Versace.
Diana died five weeks later. At Diana's funeral, John performed an updated
version of his 1973 song "Candle in the Wind." He called up frequent Beatles' producer George
Martin, who arranged a string quartet version. The original was about Marilyn Monroe, so
John's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin changed the lyrics to honor Diana. "Goodbye
Norma Jean" became "Goodbye England's rose," for example. John was so nervous about getting
the words wrong that he used a teleprompter, according to Reuters. It was the only time
he performed that version of the song live, but when it was released on September 13, it
became the best-selling song not only of 1997 but of all time in the U.K. Worldwide,
it's only been outsold by Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." The proceeds of the single
were donated to Diana's favorite charities. Some aspects of Princess Diana's coffin were very in keeping with British royal tradition.
For example, during the funeral procession, the coffin was draped with the Royal Standard,
trimmed with an ermine border. This flag is flown above palaces — and the Houses of
Parliament — when the Queen is in residence, and is also used for royals who don't have
their own flags. The senior members of the royal family all have their own variations
on the Standard, to indicate rank and titles. Another traditional feature was that the
coffin was lined in lead. This is common among members of the royal family, as
lead helps preserve the body better. Spare a thought for the pallbearers: Not
only were they managing extra weight, but they probably would have had to leave
the country if they'd dropped the coffin. However, Diana's coffin didn't look completely
identical to those of British royals throughout history. Before she was transported through
the streets of London to Westminster Abbey, her sons William and Harry had placed
a white floral arrangement on top, with a handwritten envelope that simply
and heartbreakingly read "Mummy." Westminster Abbey is the final resting place of many notable British
royals, including Henry VII, Elizabeth I, and — awkwardly — Mary, Queen of Scots. But
Diana is not among them. According to the BBC, her brother Charles, Earl Spencer, originally
planned to have her interred at their family's vault in the local church near their childhood
home of Althorp. However, he ultimately decided to bury Diana on the estate's private grounds,
where she wouldn't be disturbed by well-wishers. Despite this, in 2017, he said that there had
been four attempts to break into her tomb. After the funeral, Diana's coffin was driven
the 70 miles from London to the estate, where she was interred in a private
ceremony attended by only close family, and conducted by a priest who was a family friend. The spot Charles chose is on an
island on a lake called the Oval, overlooked by trees planted by members
of Diana's family, including her sons, and by the princess herself. It's marked with
a statue, and a small temple on the shore. Although members of the public visiting the estate
on open days aren't allowed onto the island, Diana has some company. According to the Chicago
Tribune, several family pets are buried there, including her cat Marmalade.
Some criticized Charles for this: but given that his main aim was to
give William and Harry a place to privately mourn their mother, they
certainly have a beautiful spot.
