Royals and celebrities joined Princes William and Harry to honor
their mother Princess Diana on Friday, the 10th anniversary of her
death in a high-speed limousine crash in Paris.
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets outside a chapel near
Buckingham Palace where the Queen, Diana's ex-husband Prince
Charles, her brother Charles Spencer and other royals and
celebrities gathered for the memorial service.
Paying their own tribute, members of the public attached
flowers, photographs and messages to the gates of Kensington
Palace, her London residence, although in far fewer numbers than a
decade ago.
Then a vast outpouring of grief stunned Britain almost as much
as her death whereas now, many Britons feel the public display of
sorrow 10 years ago was over-the-top.
Both Princes William and Harry addressed the congregation,
recalling their mother's warmth and charisma.
Harry said: "She will always be remembered for her amazing
public work. But behind the media glare, to us, just two loving
children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world."
In Paris, where she died in the early hours of August 31, 1997,
alongside her boyfriend, Dodi al-Fayed, following a crash in a
tunnel, small crowds of mourners gathered to lay flowers and leave
wreaths at the scene of the incident.
Prince Charles' second wife, Camilla, did not attend the
memorial service, although she was invited.
(Xinhua News Agency via agencies?September 1, 2007)
