Princess Diana is one of history’s most beloved figures whose life was embroiled in tragedy. Married to the Prince of Wales, Diana’s life and death continue to inspire movies, documentaries, television series, and books.
She was addressed as the Princess of Wales or Her Royal Highness, titles that she acquired after her marriage to Prince Charles. However, apart from the royal titles, she was also given loving nicknames by the public who adored her like ‘Lady Di’. And, to date she is remembered as the ‘People’s Princess’.
How Princess Diana Came To Be Known As ‘People’s Princess’
Princess Diana lost her life in a brutal car accident in Paris’ Pont de l’Alma tunnel on August 31, 1997. The news of her death sent a wave of disbelief, shock, and grief through not just the UK but the entire world. People grieved the loss of a humble and compassionate royal as thousands of people gathered for her funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997. Diana had a such long-lasting impact on the general public that she came to be known as the ‘People’s Princess’.
After her divorce from Prince Charles in 1981, she lost the honorific title of Her Royal Highness which she was upset about while grappling with the crushing reality that she will never be the queen of England. In the well-known Panorama interview, she said, “I’d like to be a queen of people’s hearts, in people’s hearts”. This one wish of hers manifested in the form of the infamous nickname ‘People’s Princess’ which was given to her by the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair. He addressed the nation after his tragic passing and, in his speech, he called Diana a name that would never leave people’s memory when he said that she was the ‘People’s Princess’.
He was recorded by reporters gathered for his speech saying, “You know how difficult things were for her from time to time, I’m sure we could only guess at, but the people everywhere–not just here in Britain, everywhere–they kept faith with Princess Diana. They liked her, they loved her, and they regarded her as one of the people. She was the ‘People’s Princess.’ And that’s how she will stay, how she will remain, in our hearts and our memories, forever.”
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What Made Diana Deserving Of The Title?
It is an undeniable fact that Princess Diana was loved and adored by the public like no other royal. Even so many years after her death, no royal has come closer to being loved by the public the way Diana was. It was her down-to-earth attitude with which she mingled with people, and made them feel seen and heard that earned her this title and their adoration.
Diana also made a breakthrough with the general public when she interacted and shook hands with an AIDS patient to send the message that AIDS is not spread by touch and helped shatter myths that surrounded the disease. She also became a patron of The Leprosy Mission after she visited patients suffering from leprosy.
Although she was a royal, a princess, and the future queen of England her life was imperfect. She had to deal with harassment by the British media, and infidelity in her marriage and she also suffered from an eating disorder. Princess of Wales did not shy away from openly talking about her struggles – she started a conversation about depression and mental health at a time when problems like these were ignored and looked down upon. Things like these made it possible for everyone around the world to relate to her, they saw her not as a princess from some fairytale but as a real human being with real problems.
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