Issue No. 601
International
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29 August - 4 Sept. 2002 Issue No. 601 International |
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The House of Windsor finds its way
Five years after the death of Princess Diana, her memory is beginning to fade but the monarchy is enjoying a renaissance, reports James Corbett from London
Five years ago this week, Princess Diana and her lover, the Egyptian born film producer Imad El-Fayed (nicknamed Dodi), and French driver Henri Paul were killed in a car crash in a Paris underpass.
In Britain, the outpouring of grief following her death was unprecedented. Grown men cried just as easily as their inconsolable wives and children. Flowers carpeted the streets, churches, palaces and town halls throughout the country while the public stood for hours to watch the funeral procession and to sign their condolences. Conservative estimates state that nearly 80 per cent of England watched the funeral on television with an additional two million lining the streets.
Throughout Diana's life a cult of personality developed around the reserved princess. She made a connection with many in the general public -- Prime Minister Tony Blair captured the mood of many when he described her as "the people's princess".
Some of her more hysterical followers called for her to be canonised alongside Mother Theresa who passed away, almost unnoticed, in the same week.
The grieving soon turned to anger. First the anger was aimed at the press photographers who were thought to have caused the accident. This anger soon evolved into a more pervasive indignation towards and distrust of the royal family. Many perceived the royals as being unsympathetic towards the princess and ostracising her from the family.
In a passionate eulogy, Diana's brother vowed to protect her two sons from the restrictions of the royal family that reportedly caused her to "suffer anguish [and] drove her to tearful despair".
Most royal-watchers believed that Diana's death would signal the downfall of the house of Windsor. The passing of the princess capped a decade of debauchery and scandal that shocked even the most jaded in the English public. Even those sympathetic to the royal family acknowledged that it would have to change dramatically in order to survive. Five years later it seems that not only will the monarchy survive but that it will become even more popular as time goes on.
This year has been both the best and worst of times for the Windsors. The queen's sister, Princess Margaret, and the Queen Mother passed away within weeks of each other. Surprising most pundits, the funeral of the Queen Mother generated a response similar to, albeit less animated, than that of Diana's passing. However, this time the royal family emerged more united than they had for many a year. In the public eye dignity was restored to the crown.
Little over a month later, in June, Golden Jubilee celebrations began, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's II reign. As a part of the celebration the queen toured the commonwealth and opened up the palaces to the public.
This was not an event of substance but of celebration. It included pop music concerts and many public appearances by the queen. This event solidified the role of the monarchy in the hearts of many, young and old alike.
More pronounced than the resurgent love of the queen has been the transformation in the image of Charles. For so long, he was cruelly caricatured as a big-eared buffoon. A man more comfortable talking to his plants and trees or spending time with his lover, Camilla Parker-Bowles, than representing England and the monarchy. When Diana, his ex-wife, died it was popularly believed that he should step aside and make way for his son William to become king.
Now, with some clever manipulation of the press, he has become an enlightened and forward-looking heir to the throne. In January it was revealed that the youngest prince, Harry, had been caught smoking marijuana last summer. Prince Charles took his son to a rehabilitation clinic to make clear the realities of drug abuse to young Harry. Carefully spoon-fed to an eager press, such good parenting was turned into a media victory for the future king.
Even his critics concede that he has made some important, though not always well thought out, contributions to debates on his pet subjects, agriculture and architecture.
Parker-Bowles, meanwhile, has slipped slowly but carefully into the public consciousness as Charles' partner, a spectacle that would have been inconceivable three years ago. But Diana has not wholly disappeared from view, charities launched in her name following her death are said to have raised in excess of £100 million. Her childhood home, Althorp House, is a popular tourist destination -- her beauty and charm live on in her two sons, who are said to have inherited their mother's rebellious streak.
Conspiracy theories, often popularised by Dodi's father, Mohamed El-Fayed, about her untimely death continue to circulate. El-Fayed has accused the royal family of collaborating with the British secret services in conspiring to kill his son and Diana. In Harrods, the London department store owned by El-Fayed, there is a huge and rather gaudy memorial bearing the engagement ring Dodi is meant to have given Diana before her death. El- Fayed also suggested in a recent article in The Sunday Express that Diana was pregnant when she died. Needless to say, none of these conspiracies have been proven, and El-Fayed declined the Weekly's offer of an interview.
Does any of this really matter?
Well, yes and no. There has never been a serious push by the British public to rid the country of the house of Windsor. So no matter what opinion polls declare, the monarchy will remain. Many people's feelings towards the royal family are superficial. One only has to witness how quickly the hysteria about Diana has been forgotten. Likewise one could look at the quick change in favour of both Prince Charles and his partner Camilla Parker-Bowles.
These casual feelings are based in part on the perception that the royal family are mere ceremonial figureheads. In theory though, they have a list of powers which would make many dictators envious. But these powers are seldom exercised. For the majority of British people, the royal family remain celebrity playthings called upon to enliven dull civic ceremonies and fill the following day's press. As a London shopper told me, "It's all a bit of a charade isn't it? [But it] makes the newspapers more interesting though."
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