Prince Harry made a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales,
describing her as “simply the best mother in the world” during a moving
thanksgiving service on the tenth anniversary of her death today.
During the highly personal speech, delivered on behalf of himself and his
brother William, the young prince described her as their “guardian, friend
and protector”.
“We miss her,” he said. “When she was alive, we completely took for granted
her unrivalled love of life, laughter, fun and folly.”
Harry said that he and his brother — who were 12 and 15 when Diana died —
“think about her every day, speak about her and laugh together at all the
memories”.
“To lose a parent so suddenly at such a young age — as others have experienced
— is indescribably shocking and sad. It was an event which changed our lives
forever, as it must have done for everyone who lost someone that night, “ he
said.
“But what is far more important to us now, and into the future, is that we
remember our mother as she would have wished to be remembered — as she was:
fun-loving, generous, down-to-earth, entirely genuine,” he said.
The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the late Princess’s family, the Spencers,
joined 500 guests invited by William and Harry at the Guard’s Chapel in West
London to mourn and celebrate the life of their mother, who died in a car
crash in Paris early in the morning of August 31, 1997.
The princes joined in the singing of the first hymn, Be Thou My Vision, O Lord
of My Heart, as the orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music, of which the
Princess was president, began the service. The Rev Patrick Irvin, Chaplain
to the Household Division, then said the welcoming prayer.
Prince William read from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, followed by the
Princess’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who read J.S. Hoyland’s From the
Bridge is Love.
After Prince Harry’s personal thoughts, which brought tears to the eyes of
many present, the Bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, made a
speech in which he said that the commemoration should mark the point at
which “we let Diana rest in peace”.
He said: “It is easy to lose the real person in the image, to insist that all
is darkness or all is light. Still ten years after her tragic death there
are regular reports of ‘fury’ at this or that incident and the Princess’s
memory is used for scoring points. Let it end here . . . Let this service
mark the point at which we let her rest in peace and dwell on her memory
with thanksgiving and compassion.’’
After the service William and Harry escorted their father, the Queen and the
Duke of Edinburgh to their cars, parked outside the chapel door. Cheered by
the assembled crowd, the Princes stood on the chapel steps for more than 20
minutes, greeting guests leaving the service. They smiled throughout, and at
one point Harry shared a joke with his cousins, the Princesses Eugenie and
Beatrice.
The ceremony, which started at noon, was the centrepiece of a day of
memorials, some public, others entirely private, for Diana, whose death
shocked Britain and prompted an extraordinary national display of grief.
Mohamed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods, whose son Dodi died with the Princess,
observed a two-minute silence this morning at the shop in Knightsbridge.
Looking tired and nervous, Mr Al Fayed stood in front of a bronze statue of
Diana and Dodi, surrounded by shoppers and Harrods’ employees.
The businessman, who has a strained relationship with the Royal Family after
accusing them of being involved in the deaths, received a round of applause
from his supporters at the conclusion of the tribute. He was not invited to
the official ceremony, but the Fayed family was represented by his daughter.
Outside Kensington Palace, a group of Diana fans led prayers and sang hymns
from early this morning. Hundreds of people gathered outside the palace
gates, which are lined with bouquets of flowers, photos, balloon and
newspaper clippings from a decade ago.
A long-time Diana fan, Luba Saicic, 75, who moved to London from Serbia 35
years ago, was also outside Kensington Palace for Diana’s funeral in 1997. "And
I’m still crying,’’ she said.
Many also went to Wellington Barracks, which contains the Guards' Chapel,
where today's official service took place. They waited to see the arrival of
the Royal Family, guests and representatives of charities supported by the
Princess.
Among the first to arrive at the barracks this morning were Diana’s favourite
singers Sir Elton John (who sang an adapted version of his song Candle in
the Wind at the 1997 service) and Sir Cliff Richard; the photographer Mario
Testino; Sir Richard Branson, Lord Richard Attenborough and his wife, Sheila
Sim.
Family members, including Diana’s sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady
Jane Fellowes, Raine Spencer, Diana’s stepmother, and brother Lord Earl
Charles Spencer, then made their way into the chapel.
The Prime Minister and Tony Blair, who articulated the notion of the “People’s
princess”, also attended, along with John Major, the former Conservative
Prime Minister.
William and Harry arrived at the chapel at 11.30am, wearing navy blue suits
with red ties and looking calm and confident. They stood at the entrance and
greeted guests, including their father, the Prince of Wales, who greeted
them with a kiss on each cheek when he arrived.
One of the prayers written for the memorial service by the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gave thanks “for all the memories of her that
we treasure still’’.
“Her vulnerability and her willingness to reach out to the excluded and
forgotten touched us all; her generosity gave hope and joy to many. May she
rest in peace where sorrow and pain are banished."
Other tributes are being held at the Spencer family estate of Althorp, where
Diana is buried on a small island, and in Paris, where she died.
Diana supporters in Paris also paid tribute to the "People’s Princess" with a
makeshift shrine at the statue of a gold flame over the bustling Alma
roadway tunnel where she died.
France has not sponsored official ceremonies to mark the anniversaries of the
deaths of the princess, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their chauffeur, Henri
Paul, after a high-speed crash in the tunnel.
However dozens of people from around the world visited the golden flame today,
including Francine Reulier, a 56-year-old French artist.
“I came to pray for her,” she said, clutching a coffee-table book on the late
former princess, and kneeing quietly for several minutes at the base of the
statue which was covered in flowers.
“Many of us in France feel a bit guilty for not having protected her. I
still get chills, I still cry about it _ the raw horror of it all.”
Guest list
Sir Richard Branson
Bryan Adams
Camilla Al Fayed
Lady Annabel Goldsmith
Sir Elton John and David Furnish
Lord Richard Attenborough and wife Sheila Sim
Photographer Mario Testino
Singer Sir Cliff Richard
Rosa Monckton, friend of Diana, her husband Dominic Lawson and their daughter
Domenica (Diana's god daughter)
Gordon Brown and wife Sarah
Tony Blair and his wife Cherie
John Major and his wife Norma
Royals
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie (the Earl and Countess of Wessex)
Princess Anne, the Princess Royal ,and her husband Vice Admiral Tim Laurence
Prince Andrew and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie
Princess Margaret’s children Lady Sarah Chatto and Viscount Linley and their
spouses
The Duke and Duchess of Kent
Spencer family:
Lady Sarah McCorquodale
Lady Jane Fellowes
Earl Charles Spencer and his family
