Reply #207: Hmmm....

[RFKHumphreyObama]

At the time of her tragic and horrific death, I adored her and was probably at best what you would call a Diana devotee. She was someone who I'd always profoundly admired and respected as a human being and a humanitarian and I felt that she had experienced an unfair deal at the hands of the royals and especially Prince Charles. It was also my teenaged years and, yes, I confess I had a crush on her. When she died, I literally couldn't stop thinking about her for days afterward and mourning her loss. I remember I had a very sleepless night in the aftermath of her tragic passing just thinking and reflecting on her

Ten years on, I guess I have become very cynical in my perspective on issues -influenced by world events, not just Diana. But I must concede that the whole Diana industry sickens me -the endless fascination which her in the gossip magazines and newspapers, people trying to make cash out of revealing their stories about their time with her and just the endless obsession and idol-worship with Diana that plagues the media, TV and entertainment industry. In fact now I tune out most of the time when I hear the word Princess Diana -I'm honestly fed up of hearing about it. And all the various characters who have sold their stories to the press and exploited Diana for every penny she was worth -including James Hewitt, Paul Burrell -do not take my fancy

I think Diana was effectively a very tragic figure in many ways. She didn't perhaps know what she was getting herself into when she married Prince Charles and she was overwhelmed by the trappings of public life and responsibilities of office. Maybe some of her actions were foolish and maybe she wasn't a saint Despite all she went through and despite all her troubles and setbacks, she still kept her social conscience and compassion and humanitarianism and she used her position of influence to do much good in the world and to try and make it a better place.

My attitude toward Prince Charles has softened in recent years, although I still don't personally harbor much affection for him. It's easy to call him a wimp and a coward for not pursuing and marrying his true love Camilla and sparing a whole lot of peole (including himself) a great deal of unnecessary trouble and sadness. I think he was a weak character in his youth and he allowed people to make decisions for him or to push him into decisions that he didn't want to make. I also think he essentially grew up in quite a cold and emotionally detached environment and perhaps that reflected his personality in later years. I do wish though that he had followed his heart instead of his head and just gone with Camilla in the first place.

Just writing this post has actually brought back a whole lot of feelings about how much I loved her and respected her as a human being. I do miss her immensely and wish she were alive today -not least of all for her sons. As someone who has experienced the loss of my own mother while I was still quite young (although a decade older than William and Harry), my heart aches for the two princes.