Millions of people loved the late Princess Diana, often known as the People’s Princess. She was a unique individual who won many people’s hearts with her spontaneous conduct and compassion for everyone around her, rich or poor, young or elderly.
This extraordinary woman rose to fame following her engagement to Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son and heir presumptive to the British throne, who is now King Charles. She has been under constant surveillance since the world became aware of her existence. The paparazzi followed her every step, and many believe their continuous chase contributed to her quick passing.
Lady Di was a dedicated mother who would do anything for her children, Prince William and Prince Harry. She emphasized that her children were her primary priority, even more essential than royal procedure, by defying precedent and competing in school games alongside fellow parents.
On the day she lost her life, August, 1997, she was running away from the paparazzi.
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Among these was a visit to the Taj Mahal, but the iconic photo later evoked mixed emotions.
Unfortunately, Diana lost in a vehicle accident just months after this iconic portrait was taken.
During their vacation to India, rumors circulated that Diana and Charles’ marriage was falling apart. Despite their clashing schedules and obligations, it was expected that they would visit the Taj Mahal together. However, as we now know, it did not occur.
“We didn’t know if [Princess Diana] would come. She kept us waiting for a long time,” Anwar Hussein told People. “It was really, really hot there. She looked sad, and she knew which way the story would go. She was very clever. There were other pictures taken that day on another bench when she seemed to be contemplating things.”
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Speaking of visiting the mausoleum at the time, Lady Di said, “It was a fascinating experience – very healing.” Wanting to know more, reporters wanted her to be more specific. With a smile on her face, she replied: “Work it out for yourself.”
Some dubbed this famous photo “broken hearts” despite how breathtakingly gorgeous she seemed in it.
“That picture of her as a lonely, neglected, beautiful girl who didn’t have anyone to love her back just broke everybody’s hearts,” royal biographer and writer Tina Brown said in the CNN documentary series The Windsors: Inside the Royal Dynasty.
“She understood what she was doing. And it drove Charles insane.”
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The photograph became a symbol of the beginning of the collapse of Charles and Diana’s marriage, despite Diana’s initial reluctance to take it.
Princess Diana isn’t the only princess to have snapped a photo in front of the Taj Mahal. During a visit to India in 2016, Prince William and Kate Middleton posed at the same location.
“The Duke of Cambridge is, of course, aware of the huge esteem his mother, the late Princess of Wales, is held in India, and he appreciates the iconic status of the images of the princess that exist at the Taj,” the Prince’s spokesman said at the time.
“He feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mother’s memory is kept alive by so many who travel there.”
However, when Meghan was about to travel to India while she and Harry dated, he asked her not to pose in front of the famous building. Have not been aware of Harry’s late mother’s iconic photo, Meghan was baffled by his request.
“‘Do not take a photo in front of the Taj Mahal.’ She’d asked why and I’d said: ‘My mum.’ I’d explained that my mother had posed for a photo there, and it had become iconic, and I didn’t want anyone thinking Meg was trying to mimic my mother,” Harry wrote in his book Spare. “Meg had never heard of this photo, and found the whole thing baffling, and I loved her for being baffled.”
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In Spare, Harry also wrote about his mother’s loss and how that affected him.
“Everyone knows where they were and what they were doing the night my mother passed away,” Harry stated.
“I cried once, at the burial, and you know I go into detail about how strange it was and how actually there was some guilt that I felt and I think William felt as well, by walking around the outside of Kensington Palace.”
“There were 50,000 bouquets of flowers to our mother and there we were shaking people’s hands, smiling,” he continued. “I’ve seen the videos, right, I looked back over it all. And the wet hands that we were shaking, we couldn’t understand why their hands were wet, but it was all the tears that they were wiping away.”
Harry and William, at 12 and 15, marched behind their mother’s coffin. Harry then condemned the Palace’s choice.
“My mother just passed away and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” he once told Newsweek. “I do not believe any youngster should be required to do that, under any circumstances. I do not think it would happen today.”
Princess Diana was certainly one of a kind. May she rest peacefully.
