30 AWW.COM.AUAUGUST 2017
GETTY IMAGES. REX FEATURES.The Weeklythat annual visitor figures
will soon pass the one million mark.
To some, it’s a more fitting tribute
to the spirit of Diana than an old-
fashioned, conventional statue, but
in this Prince William and Prince
Harry appear to disagree.
At the beginning of the year,
they announced a statue had been
commissioned and would stand
in the gardens of Kensington Palace.
At the same time, the new temporary
White Garden, planted with white
roses, scented narcissus and a carpet
of forget-me-nots, was announced
- both tributes to be made accessible
to the public. Many Diana fans will
appreciate the gesture, if not all.
It was, of course, possible to love
Diana and be infuriated by her at the
same time. One untold story from
her last days on earth features James
Whitaker, the most famous and
celebrated of the royal press corps,
who had met Diana in her pre-Prince
Charles days and whom she jokingly
dubbed the Big Red Tomato. It’s true
to say James, a close friend of this
writer, was devoted to Diana and, on
several occasions, she would ask his
advice. Given their relative positions,
their relationship was a surprisingly
close one.
In the summer of 1997, the world’s
press had descended on the South of
France, where Diana and Dodi Fayed
were attempting to holiday aboard the
yacht Jonikal. The relationship was
new and – so it seemed to the outside
world – inexplicable.
In the intense heat, Diana did not
respond well to the feverish attention- posing for photographs one minute,
sending out threats through emissaries
the next. It’s fair to say she was not
behaving with customary decorum
and when James caught up with
her, he pleaded, “For heaven’s sake,
Ma’am, you are the Princess of
Wales – please act like the Princess
of Wales!”
James spoke for many who felt
that her life at that juncture had
taken a wrong turn.
What might have been
It’s anyone’s guess what would
have become of her relationship
with Dodi – orindeed any other
man who might have succeededhim. She had become such a colossal
figure onthe world stage that it would
have beenimpossible for most men to
compete with the many demands
for her attention.
Impossible to guess, too, what
Diana would have made of the
young Kate Middleton and, just as
interestingly to speculate, how happily
she would have shared grandmother
duties with Carole Middleton (not
well, perhaps?).
Twenty years then since the world
came to a standstill with the shock
news of Diana’s death. The question
often asked is – if she had lived, what
would she be doing now?
“She might be solving conflicts,
feeding the world’s hungry or
breeding spaniels in happy rural
obscurity,” says Patrick Jephson,
her former private secretary.
“We will never know.”AWWCHRISTOPHER WILSON is a royal
biographer and documentary film-
maker. His books includeThe Windsor
Knot: Charles, Camilla And The Legacy
Of Diana,A Greater LoveandDiana v
Charles(with James Whitaker).The same ceremony, 28 years apart. Trooping the Colour sparked cheeky smiles (above, right) from Prince Harry in 1988
and again last year, this time from his niece and nephew, Prince Charlotte and Prince George.