Royal devotees gathered outside Kensington Palace today to mark the 22nd anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, as it emerged that her brother Earl Charles Spencer is selling copies of the eulogy he read at her funeral for £30.
Diana died on August 31, 1997 after the Mercedes S-280 she was in crashed into a pillar under the Alma bridge in Paris at high speed.
The death of the People’s Princess sent shock waves around the world and hundreds of thousands came out to mourn, covering parks across the nation with flowers and tributes.
Today, those same devoted supporters were pictured sitting outside the Palace in Hyde Park, London, to celebrate Diana’s life on the anniversary of her passing.
But as the loyal mourners gathered to remember their Princess, it was revealed that her brother, Earl Charles Spencer, has been flogging signed copies of the emotional eulogy he gave at her funeral for £30.
The full text of the speech he read at his older sister’s funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997 is included in a blue book, wrapped in a ceremonial ribbon.
Royal devotees have gathered outside Kensington Palace in London to mark the 22nd anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. They were pictured holding banners showing the Princess during her lifetime as well as tributes
Mourners were also seen sitting on chairs next to the palace and wearing Union Jack flags. Her death sent shockwaves around the world and led to a carpet of flowers being laid in front of the palace
The book is titled ‘Earl Spencer’s Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales’.
Fans can purchase the book at the gift shop in the family’s Althorp House estate in Northamptonshire, which is open to visitors during the summer months.
They can also order it online.
Visitors also revealed that, on some days, Lord Charles Spencer, who is worth around £116m, even sets up a booth to sign copies for visiting customers.
One visitor said: ‘He’ll only sign his history books, which are around £20 each, or this eulogy for £30. He wouldn’t sign my £5.99 guidebook.
‘My wife was disappointed there weren’t any pictures of Diana in it.’
The books are being flogged on eBay for up to £300, reports The Mirror.
Mourners standing outside the palace gates holding flags and pictures of Princess Diana during her life
One mourner was pictured bringing flowers to the front gates of Kensington Palace as she pays tribute to the Princess
Two mourners were seen outside Kensington Palace this morning wearing Union Jack flags and themed clothing. One was also wearing a white rosette with Diana’s face on. Another mourner was seen attaching some pink flowers to the gates of Kensington Palace
A picture from 1997, taken shortly after her death, shows the land in front of Kensington Palace covered with a carpet of flowers. Many had messages with them as members of the public paid tribute to the Princess
Today, supporters gathered outside the palace, her former home, which is now used by her eldest son Prince William and his wife Kate.
The mourners stuck images of the Princess during her life onto the metal railings alongside flowers, flags bearing pictures of her children and specially-printed banners.
One devotee even appeared to have left a watercolour of Princess Diana at the Palace Gates, which they made themselves.
Several others were dressed in union jacks sitting on chairs by the gates and using umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun.
Three mourners pictured outside the gates of the Palace today, where Diana lived. It is now the home of her eldest son Prince William and his family
A mourner places a flag with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s face on onto the gate at Kensington palace to mark the 22nd anniversary of Princess Diana’s death
People have also been pictured coming to lay flowers in the shape of a cross at Kensington palace today, (left) arriving and (right) the cross after it was placed on the gate
Prince William and Prince Harry pictured observing a memorial to their mother on the gates of Kensington Palace on August 30, 2017, when it was the 20th anniversary of her death
The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen are seen here viewing the mountains of flowers that were left outside Buckingham Palace in memory of Princess Diana, on September 5 1997
Prince Charles with Prince William and Prince Harry. They are looking at flowers left to his wife and their mother outside Kensington Palace. The photo was taken in September 1997
Mourners at the time of Princess Diana’s death pictured laying hundreds of flowers at the London store of Harrods, Knightsbridge, in September 1997
(From left to right) Prince Philip, Prince William, Earl Althorp, Prince Harry and Prince Charles walk in the procession for Princess Diana’s funeral on September 6 1997
Princess Diana attracted many admirers in her life due to her actions for charitable causes and resilience.
One of the most famous is the moment she walked across landmine infested ground in Angola to raise awareness about the dangers they pose. Later that same year a landmine treaty was signed.
She was also heavily involved in charity work, being president of Barnado’s and London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, among others.
Her marriage to Prince Charles broke down, however, after he began an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles in mid-1971, leading to the couple officially announcing their ‘amicable separation’ in 1992.
Diana had signalled to the world her marriage was over earlier that year when she posed for photos alone outside the Taj Mahal in India, widely regarded as one of the world’s most romantic buildings.
At the time of her death the land around Kensington Palace was covered with flowers, as memorials were set up across the country to honour the Princess.
Princess Diana pictured riding in a carriage with Prince Charles on their wedding day on July 29 1981, in London
Princess Diana pictured after walking over an area of ground infested with landmines in Angola to raise awareness about the risk they posed in 1997 (left) and Princess Diana attending church with Prince Charles in 1993 (right)
Princess Diana leaning on Prince Charles during their honeymoon in Balmoral, 1981
Princess Diana seen in Argentina attending a dinner for a medical charity, in 1995. It took place at the Palais de Correos in the capital, Buenos Aires
Princess Diana pictured standing between the Queen and the Queen mother at the Trooping of the Colour celebrations on June 13 1987. On the right, wearing red, is the Queen’s husband Prince Philip
Princess Diana signalled to the world that her marriage had come to an end using this photo, in 1992, which shows her sitting alone in front of the Taj Mahal in India, widely regarded as one of the most romantic buildings in the world
Legacy Diana leaves behind
Petronella Wyatt
Writer
‘A few years after Diana and Dodi died, I was supposed to interview Mohamed Al-Fayed for this newspaper. I had gone to his flat in Park Lane. He opened the door, shook my hand but declined to do the interview after all (he was notoriously capricious). However, he said he would like to show me something, but I was not to write about it.
‘The ‘something’ turned out to be Dodi’s flat, which was next door to his own. I was horrified by the sight of it. It was the creepiest, most unnatural thing I had ever seen, like something out of Edgar Allan Poe.
‘Nothing had been touched since Dodi had last left it. There were his cigar butts in filmy ashtrays, and mouldy half-eaten chocolates in dishes on tables with plastic coverings. Dodi’s shoes were on the floor and some of his clothes lay about. A maid made the bed all the time, as if Dodi was about to get back into it. Pyjamas were laid out on the pillow. The place smelt of decay and preservative.
Michael Whitlam, former director general of the British Red Cross, said: ‘Since her death, I’ve had to look back many, many times on the ten years or so that I knew Diana, and think: ‘What kind of person was she? Was she a helpful, positive person?’ And she gets nine out of ten most times’
‘And Diana was everywhere. It was as if Fayed had married them in death. Ghastly chocolate-box paintings of her (some full-length) covered the walls.
‘God knows who had done them, but they were hideous. She and Dodi grinned out of them holding hands (I think in one, she wore a ring), or she stood alone in a floaty pastel confection like something out of a Barbara Cartland romance — nothing like she was in real life.
‘Fayed showed me around this fantastical shrine, room by room, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. He even turned to a maid to make sure she was making Dodi’s bed properly.
‘For the first time I pitied him. I thought he had literally gone mad with grief.’
Michael Whitlam
Former director general of the British Red Cross
‘Since her death, I’ve had to look back many, many times on the ten years or so that I knew Diana, and think: ‘What kind of person was she? Was she a helpful, positive person?’ And she gets nine out of ten most times.
Yes, there were occasions when she wasn’t feeling particularly happy and where she and I might have had a difference of view.
But across the time, she — as all the Royal Family who get involved in charitable work do — added greatly to the charity’s ability to do its job. And from that point of view, those who criticise are probably criticising for reasons best known to themselves.’
Patrick Jephson
Former private secretary
‘It’s too soon to say if she has changed the Royal Family, but the evidence so far is that she will definitely live on. She will always be a significant historical figure.
This is all the more apparent when you travel and see that she is still, for many people, the prism through which the monarchy is viewed. I think that will continue down the generations.
There are elements in Britain who would be happy for her to be forgotten because there will be a different queen consort now. I think that’s a minority.’
David Sassoon
Fashion designer
‘There is a definite Diana legacy — her children, and the behaviour of the young royals has become much more relaxed, outgoing and warm. She was a compassionate, caring woman.
What she did that is most extraordinary is that she changed the face of royal behaviour, she made it warmer, more intimate and more caring.
There is no question that the old guard of royals were very formal; she was a breath of fresh air.
The new, young generation have so much to thank her for because that’s how their behaviour is today.
You wouldn’t get William and Harry doing what they do if their mother hadn’t set the formula for future royalty. The other person who has learned from her is Charles.’
Bishop Hugh Montefiore
The late Bishop of Birmingham
‘He who had been vastly unpopular when his wife was alive was becoming vastly popular within a couple of years of her death. It’s extraordinary, the volatility of public opinion.
‘For some reason, the media have decided to boost Prince Charles. But there is also a feeling, now that some of the truth about Diana is coming out, that he was as much sinned against as sinning.
‘And the realisation of the quite wonderful work he has done with the Prince’s Trust, which is generally not known as it should have been, has done more for the young, unemployed in this country than any government, or any other group of people.
‘And the number of causes he’s championed is really splendid, and this is beginning to percolate.’
