I'm looking for information on any events that will take place to
commemorate the 5th anniversary of Lady Di's untimely death.

Specificly: 

Where are the events happening?  In Paris?  In London?  Elsewhere?

Who is organizing these events?  The Royal Family?  Faithful
followers?

Are there any fixed location memorials that people regularly visit?

Are there any markings on the accident site in Paris that people will
visit or re-mark with flowers/ribbons,etc?

Is there a "protocol" of mourning, or a body of tradition similar to
the activities surrounding the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death?

Does anyone have an archive (photo/text/whatever) of previous year's
events?

Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by leli-ga on 19 Aug 2002 09:01 PDT

Hi there

There's stuff I can help you with and stuff I can't.

Yes, I can tell you about the sites in London and Paris that act as
unofficial shrines for those wishing to remember Diana.  That's where
people who have strong feelings about Diana will gather.  Yes, I can
find pictures and news stories about previous anniversaries,
especially in London.  And I can tell you about all kinds of official
memorials and memorial projects.

But organised commemoration is limited.  The Royal Family's approach
is to keep things private with maybe a quiet trip to church.  (They
certainly wouldn't like a Graceland style event.) Diana's family home,
usually open to the public, is closed on August 31.

Would an answer with more emphasis on sites than events be suitable
for you?

Regards

---

Clarification of Question by fishinhand-ga on 19 Aug 2002 14:49 PDT

I'm really looking for events and the people that go to these events
in Paris and London.

Perhaps the Graceland analogy is a good one--those that wish to
remember Elvis gather yearly at his grave in Memphis.  This gathering
started without any official push from the Presley estate.  Rather
many fans began gathering and over the course of several decades the
event has grown large and has been "blessed" by Elvis Presley
Enterprises.  When it began (say, at the 5 year anniversary) there was
much less organization than there is today (visit elvis.com for a list
of "happenings"), but there was a body of ritual that people followed:
 they went on a pilgrimage to Graceland, they visited his birthplace
in Mississippi, they brought flowers, they have a candlelight vigil
the night before his death, etc.

I'm looking for similar events regarding Lady Di's death.  I
understand there's probably not an officially sanctioned event, but I
suspect that there is a largish gathering of people that are doing
something together.  I suspect that this has been happening for years
and so there is probably an archive of past events.

I know about the memorial fountain and the family home, so merely
listing the sites isn't what I'm after.  I'm after a confirmation that
people will be at a particular site on a particular day with a purpose
of commemorating the anniversary.

Let me know if you need further clarifications.

Hi there

Thanks for asking this question and responding to my query.

I was interested in what you say about the five year anniversary being
a critical moment in the Elvis commemoration history and have tried to
pull out all the information available about the places that will
focus activity on the fifth anniversary of Diana's death.

*LONDON*

KENSINGTON PALACE

There's no doubt that the gates of Kensington Palace are the main
focus for grief and remembrance in London.  Diana lived there and it
was the center for the first great public mourning.  Every anniversary
people repeat the traditions started in September 1997 of congregating
there with flowers.  They also bring soft toys, candles, cards and
messages which are tucked into the gate and the adjoining railings or
laid nearby.

You can see news stories and photographs about this on the BBC
website.

for 1998:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/160932.stm

and 1999:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/433947.stm

and 2000:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/904040.stm

To see pictures of 2001 you need to go to a personal website run by
Gill Marseilles who says she and her friend were the very first people
ever to lay flowers for the princess at the palace:

http://www.angelfire.com/me3/gill1/gill2.html

You'll see that the crowds were smaller in 2001. Gill's complaint that
the Press were not reporting on the public's continuing wish to mourn
Diana in public is probably fairly accurate and illustrated by that
being the first year without a BBC story and picture in the archive. 
She is clearly doing everything she can to counteract media lack of
interest.  As well as campaigning for the memorial fountain on
breakfast TV, she's started a move to collect soft toys at kensington
Palace on the anniversary to give to a children's hospital in memory
of Diana.

I had hoped Gill would respond to an email I sent her before I
answered this question and of course I'll let you know if I hear from
her.

I'm pretty sure the public can't stay in Kensington Gardens after dusk
and this would discourage a candlelight vigil.  Though I can't confirm
the park's opening times online I've checked with a couple of
Londoners who 'think' that's right.

Other info on the park at:

http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/


HARRODS

The famous London department store owned by Dodi Fayed's father has
been a focus of mourning on past anniversaries, with the public laying
flowers as well as Mohammed Fayed organising memorial displays within
the store.  See, for instance:

http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSDiana/diana_aug31.html

People came to Harrods in 2000 according to the BBC story cited above.
 And the 'shrine' was still there earlier this year:

http://www.mychelsea.net/chelsea/shops-shorts2.htm


PEOPLE

I've already mentioned Gill and there are people named in the news
stories.  In case you want to be very vigorous in contacting private
individuals who go to Kensington Palace on the anniversaries, note the
large number of sites involved in a Princess Diana webring:

://www.google.co.uk/search?q=diana+webring&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

*PARIS*

Here the focus of public mourning is the statue near the Pont d'Alma
tunnel where the crash happened.  This statue is "La Flamme de la
Liberté" statue and is based on the torch in the American Statue of
Liberty.

"......the monument became a public memorial to the
princess.....decorated with hundreds of postcards, stuffed animals,
paper collages, photos, personal letters, and similar messages. These
signs of international sympathy were either glued to the Flame of
Liberty or inscribed directly on its surface, inscriptions that have
in their turn since been partly removed or defaced by new layers of
graffiti, slabs of yellow paint, and new inscriptions ("I love
you-we'll meet in heaven"); the whole thing vaguely resembling a work
by Jacques Villegle. Even the massive stone railing behind the
monument has been covered with hundreds of signatures, as if the
visitors who immortalized themselves in this way wanted to make sure
that before they followed Diana into the tunnel, never to return, they
would at least leave behind their signature ("I cannot believe you are
gone, Rat&Radika, Toronto"). "

From an academic article on "Living Archives" at:

http://www.art-omma.org/issue7/text/Spieker.htm

In 1998 the police kept people away from the actual crash site and a
candlelit vigil was held near the tunnel entrance.  They congregated
round the Flame of Liberty statue which has become a year-round symbol
for people from all over the world.

There's a lot about it in French at:

http://www.mediologie.com/publications/conf_mon/21-une-flamme-dans-le-vent.pdf.

The BBC confirms activity there on the 2000 anniversary:

"In Paris, bouquets of fresh flowers, hand-written notes, poems and
images of Diana were laid at an unofficial memorial near the scene of
the crash. "

But I can't say if these people who were actively tending the shrine
in 1998 are still doing so:

"self-appointed guardians of her 'shrine' tend the flowers round the
base of the statue. Since the fatal crash, a retired decorator known
simply as Georges has made daily visits to the Flame of Liberty at the
Pont de l'Alma to maintain the shrine, which is frequently attacked
and looted by vandals.  But recently two Italian heiresses, Ada and
Pina, have taken it upon themselves to tend the unofficial memorial in
competition with Georges.......
Georges, 72, who said he was among the first to visit the site of the
accident after hearing about it on the radio, is quoted in Le Figaro,
stating his devotion to Diana and condemning the vandalism to her
shrine."

http://pages.prodigy.net/ellet/FirstAnniv.htm

The statue is certainly still a tourist 'attraction' and from travel
diaries on the web I gather it looks much like this picture from 1999
at:

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.phan-ngoc.com/fred/paris/img/flamme.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.phan-ngoc.com/fred/paris/html/flamme.html&h=360&w=480&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2B%2522flamme%2Bde%2Bla%2Bliberte%2522%2Bparis%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG

(Sorry about the hugely long web address but the simpler version
doesn't work. You may need to cut and paste it into the address bar of
your browser. Click on the picture to get a slightly bigger version.)

*OTHER*

The US Episcopalian Church held a remembrance service last year which
was popular and they're doing it again this year:

http://archbishops.org/diana.htm

And as you probably know Diana's name lives on via charities, a rose
named after her, a playground, a walkway, the memorial fountain, a
special exhibit at Althorp etc.  My colleague has told you about
commemorative TV programmes in the comment below.

I hope this research is helpful to you and gives you the information
for you need.  Please ask for clarification if you feel something
isn't quite clear.

Regards - Leli

search notes:
Princess OR Lady Di OR Diana 
"Kensington Palace" "Kensington Gardens"
"Pont de l'Alma" tunnel "Flamme de la Liberté"
1999 OR 2000 OR 2001
Harrods
anniversary commemorate remembrance mourn memorial
flowers shrine

---

Clarification of Answer by leli-ga on 21 Aug 2002 01:07 PDT

Hi again

I heard back from a friend of Gill's who sent a very friendly email
saying some people are planning a candle-lighting if they are allowed
into Kensington Gardens after midnight on the 30/31 August.  Other
places that people coming to pay tribute to Diana may be going are:

The display of Diana's dresses in Kensington Palace
The Diana Cafe
Westminster Abbey
The Fountain (?this isn't yet built)
The display at Harrods

She thinks that with this being the fifth anniversary and all the
publicity about the memorial fountain there may be more people there
than last year and that Gill will be on a bench near the gates where
she always sits.

And she adds a detail about last year that I hadn't heard of anywhere
else.  Last year a group of people were singing a special song
"composed for Diana".

She refers to her website at:

http://www.angelfire.com/mb2/dianalights2/memorial1.html

I think the cafe must be:

Cafe Diana 5
Wellington Terrace
London W2 4LW
tel: 020 7792 9606 

See:

http://www.frommers.com/hangingout/london/6000024688.html

Details of the dress exhibition are at:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/content.asp?ID=508

Hope this helps.

Found one more link that might interest you:

http://www.newsahead.com/NewWNF/diana.htm

Best wishes - Leli

This was exactly what I was looking for and a little more!  Thanks,
you've been most helpful. :)

Here's a start:

Memorials --
British government is planning a memorial fountain in London's Hyde
Park, to be ready by 8/31/03
<http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_619575.html?menu=news.royals>

You can visit Althorp, the Spencer family home, Diana's burial site.
It is open through Sept. 30, but will be closed on Aug. 3`1.
<http://www.althorp.com/home/index.asp>

Mourning customs -- Each Aug. 31, people leave flowers at the gates of
Kensington Palace in London.
<http://www.newsahead.com/NewWNF/diana.htm>

Events --
CBS television on Sept. 1 will air a special that includes excerpts
from secret tapes Diana made.
<http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1061125,00.html>

The BBC will air a one-hour special in which people tell their
memories of Diana.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/news/062002/22/princess_diana.shtml>

Britain's Channel 4 will air a controversial opera about Diana.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4366864,00.html>

A ballet based on Diana's life premiers in Denmark next month.
<http://www.newsahead.com/NewWNF/diana.htm>

The country of Micronesia has released a stamp to mark the fifth
anniversary of Diana's death.
<http://www.linns.com/print/archives/20020506/newissues.asp>