Diana: Renewed Press Interest

On July 1, 2001 we will all be reminded of a very important date - the day that Diana, Princess of Wales would have celebrated her 40th birthday. The crescendo of press interest will reach its peak and then wane again until another 'legitimate' reason for exploitation of her memory comes around. The reason won't be hard to guess. I imagine it will be the 20th Anniversary of her fairytale wedding to Prince Charles on July 29th. For by Diana's own observation we've discovered that she is a product that continues to sell well.

Personally, I don't mind all the press interest. To me, keeping her memory alive is a beautiful tribute to her short but powerful life. What I do mind is the exploitation of her memory in order to up the television ratings or the circulation of newspapers and magazines. One of the most blatant was the ITV special, "Diana: Story of a Princess', which recently aired in four parts. In it Penny Junor, F.O.C. (Friend of Charles), who authored (among others) the book "Charles: Victim or Villian" stated, "I believe that Diana was suffering from a severe psychological disorder and she had this disorder when she went into the relationship. I think she develop it as a child." Apparently psychiatrist, Neville Marks, F.O.D. (Friend of Diana) who was also interviewed, dismissed this claim as false. "And my professional opinion is that… it would not have been possible for Diana to assume all her responsibilities if she had a serious personality disorder."

Another exploitation is in the form of Shirley Hewitt, love rate James Hewitt's mother, who claims "When she arrived she quickly discovered we liked a little tipple after dinner. So she nicked a bottle orange vodka from the cellar at Highgrove and it was excellent. Thereafter, each time she came down she managed to smuggle a bottle." She is further betrayed by her former financial adviser, Joseph Sanders, who says Diana lied in her famous Martin Bashir interview stating, "Diana told me she made probably three to four hundred telephone call to Oliver Hoare." He continues to lay waste to her memory by adding "When she moved out of Highgrove, Diana found some of Prince Charles' possessions and put them on a bonfire. She was very vengeful." If she was vengeful, what does sharing this story make Mr. Sanders? Greedy Cad is what pops into my mind.

Enough about the negative! My only point in sharing it is that a production company and a television station have made a huge investment in a program that rehashes her life claiming to be filled with new data. To me what it is filled with are people smarmy enough to accept a fee for sharing inflated tales of their memories of a dear departed woman. A woman who willingly took a negative situation, the invasion of her personal space by the press, and exploited it to help, as her brother so succinctly put it, 'the truly down trodden' by bringing their situations to the forefront of our minds. She cared enough about others to overlook her own safety by traveling to places like Bosnia to see first hand the devastating effects of landmines in today's world.

Her brother, Charles, Earl Spencer, has been accused of using the media that he blamed for his sister's death to exploit her life by bringing forward new photographs, etc. I disagree with this finding. In my opinion Charles is not exploiting her memory he is preserving it. These photographs show us a happy, charismatic child - not a woman with a personality disorder. A picture is worth a thousand words and I feel as if I could write a volume on these. He also makes a point of reminding us that Prince William is Diana's son, not Diana. This is an excellent point. That is a good thing to keep in our consciousness so that we don't look to William to carbon copy his mother. He deserves to be his own person developing his own strengths.

Diana was a very complex person. Though no saint, she had a big heart; a compassionate nature and gift of making everyone she came in contact with feel special. Though her sons, William and Harry, are the legacy she leaves behind, her good work in the area of service to others is what has helped shape the legend of Diana. For anyone to look back and dwell on the minor flaws that rendered her human seems a silly waste of time when she has left a service record that is respectable and has rendered her an angel of mercy to those who's lives she touched.

Again, I invite you to take part in a Living Memorial that will honor Diana's life by continuing her tradition of service to others. Please write me with your pledges in Diana's name. If it is something that you can do on July 1st, that would be even more awesome! The goal here is see if we can bank a million community service hours in honor of the Diana. Together I know we can do it! 

All the best,