They were the seven days that shook the world, from the death of Princess Diana to her funeral at Westminster Abbey.
In this, the fourth part of our poignant series to mark the 20th anniversary, JONATHAN MAYO reconstructs those momentous events as they happened though the eyes of Royal Family members, politicians, the Princess’s family, and a heartbroken public . . .
Prince Charles Prince Harry Prince William Earl Spencer Lord Charles Althorp at Diana’s funeral
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Duke of Edinburgh, arrive St James’s Palace in London to pay their respects to Diana ‘s body in the Chapel Royal on the eve of the Princess of Wales’ funeral
6am, Wednesday, September 3
At Althorp, Charles Spencer is sitting in his study. Yesterday he had tried to write Diana’s eulogy but couldn’t find the right words. After a restless night, he woke up early knowing what he had to do — he had to speak on Diana’s behalf. Now the words are coming easily.
At Althorp, Charles Spencer is sitting in his study. Yesterday he had tried to write Diana’s eulogy but couldn’t find the right words
8am
Dressed in black, Princess Diana’s mother Frances Shand Kydd is leaving her bungalow on the island of Seil for London. She gives a note to waiting journalists. It says: ‘My heartfelt thank you’s (sic) to everyone for their prayers, flowers and endless thoughtful kindness, following the death of my daughter, Diana. I thank God for the gift of Diana and for all her loving and giving — I give her back to Him, with my love, pride and admiration to rest in peace.’
London florists are ordering more flowers from their European suppliers. At Kensington Palace the bouquets are now in their tens of thousands. A Royal Parks’ noticeboard is covered in scribbled notes. One says: ‘Dear Diana, your house is in heaven. Love Laura, aged 6.’
10.30am
At the daily meeting at Buckingham Palace to discuss arrangements for the funeral, crucial decisions still need to be made. There are likely to be a million people coming to London and this will put a great deal of pressure on the funeral route. Michael Gibbins from Diana’s office has a suggestion: ‘Why don’t we take the Princess back to Kensington Palace and begin from there? We could take her home for one last night on the eve of the funeral. By starting from there, we could extend the route by more than two miles.’ Everyone thinks this is an excellent idea.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon needs to know if Prince Charles and his sons will be walking behind Diana’s coffin so he can gauge just how much security is needed.
There is concern that the Prince of Wales could be booed ‘or worse’. People have been calling the Palace, shouting abuse at the switchboard operator.
The meeting decides that Princes Andrew and Edward should go on a walkabout to test the public mood.
The meeting decides that Princes Andrew and Edward should go on a walkabout to test the public mood
The Duke of York (third left facing) and Prince Edward (centre) are besieged by the crowds outside Buckingham Palace
Yesterday Prince Philip in Balmoral had interrupted the meeting via conference call, angry at suggestions about William and Harry’s role at the funeral. Now he interrupts again: ‘Our worry at the moment is William. He’s run away up the hill and we can’t find him. That’s the only thing we are concerned with at the moment.’
11am
Today’s newspapers are critical that the Queen hasn’t returned to London and about the lack of a flag above Buckingham Palace. ‘LET THE FLAG FLY AT HALF MAST’ is the headline in the Daily Mail.
Princess Diana lookalike Nicky Lilley has spoken to reporters. ‘Obviously I won’t be able to do the same work and I don’t know what I will do. I’m still in shock.’
Today’s newspapers are critical that the Queen hasn’t returned to London and about the lack of a flag above Buckingham Palace. ‘LET THE FLAG FLY AT HALF MAST’ is the headline in the Daily Mail.
11.30am
The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey is at Lambeth Palace re-writing the prayers for the funeral. Neither the Spencer family nor the Royal Family had liked his first draft. The Spencers did not want any mention of the Royal Family and the Royal Family insisted the words ‘people’s princess’ be removed.
12pm UK time/ 1pm Paris time
Paris police are searching a flat on the rue des Petits-Champs belonging to Henri Paul, looking for any clues that might explain the accident. They find wine and spirits in the hall, the kitchen and the living room.
1.30pm Paris time
The staff of Mohamed Al Fayed’s Ritz hotel in Paris have been forbidden to talk to the Press. But one man is disobeying that rule and is on air talking to French radio station Europe 1, his voice distorted to conceal his identity. ‘Paul wasn’t a chauffeur, he had no business being in that car . . . he should have been off duty and he had already “tippled” a little — everyone knew that, when he wasn’t at work, he “tippled”. ’
The staff of Mohamed Al Fayed’s Ritz hotel in Paris have been forbidden to talk to the Press
2pm
Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s Press spokesman, is walking the funeral route with representatives from the Lord Chamberlain’s office and the Army to check the gun carriage carrying Diana’s coffin will be able to negotiate the 90-degree turns. Everything seems manageable — the route is confirmed. Now Dickie must break the news to the broadcasters that it has almost doubled in length.
Princess Anne and her daughter, Zara, call at a branch of BHS to buy matching £18 black hats for the funeral.
2.30pm/3.30pm Paris time
At Harlem Hospital in New York, where Diana made headlines seven years before by hugging a child with AIDS, the lobby is so full of flowers that staff are finding it hard to make their way in.
At the British Embassy in Paris a long queue of people wait in the rain to sign books of condolence. The embassy staff had originally put out a single book, but now there are five. A request has gone out to London for more stationery.
At the British Embassy in Paris a long queue of people wait in the rain to sign books of condolence. The embassy staff had originally put out a single book, but now there are five. A request has gone out to London for more stationery
The Embassy staff are especially distressed at Diana’s death. One tells a reporter: ‘What if she’d been staying at the British Embassy rather than the Ritz? What if she’d used an official driver instead of the hotel’s man? By the time we realised she was in Paris it was too late. It was over.’
3pm
Charles Spencer arrives by car at St James’s Palace and is led to the Royal Chapel, where his sister’s body lies. He has with him the speech he plans to give at the funeral. He stands in front of Diana’s coffin and reads it out loud to her. He said later that he heard ‘a whisper of satisfaction in that sad, sad place’.
Since the 16th century all members of the Spencer family have been buried at the church of St Mary the Virgin at Great Brington, near Althorp.
Since the 16th century all members of the Spencer family have been buried at the church of St Mary the Virgin at Great Brington, near Althorp
Tony Blair is on the phone with Prince Charles. They agree the Queen must broadcast to the nation and the Royal Family come to London and be visible, however painful that may be
All week the plan has been that Diana will be buried there, but Earl Spencer has changed his mind. Such is the outpouring of grief in the past few days, he is concerned that St Mary’s will be turned into a shrine. He wants his sister to be buried on an island in the grounds of Althorp.
Tony Blair is on the phone with Prince Charles. They agree the Queen must broadcast to the nation and the Royal Family come to London and be visible, however painful that may be.
5pm
Dickie Arbiter is in the Chapel Royal. When he sees the coffin he feels angry — at the paparazzi, at those who should have been looking after her and at the Princess. ‘Why, Ma’am? Why didn’t you put on your seatbelt? How could you have been so stupid?’
In Berlin, soprano Lynne Dawson is on the phone to the Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey, Martin Neary. He has asked Lynne if she’d sing part of the final movement of the Verdi Requiem at Saturday’s funeral, with only a single rehearsal at the Abbey the day before.
Lynne hasn’t sung the piece for a while and so had immediately bought a copy of the score. She asks Martin whether a different requiem might be more suitable, given they won’t have an orchestra. He replies that the Verdi Requiem was special to Diana because it had been played at the first classical concert Prince Charles had taken her to.
Lynne takes a deep breath and says to Martin: ‘OK, I’ll do it.’
7pm
Sarah, Duchess of York is in tears in the Chapel Royal. Sarah and Diana hadn’t spoken for more than a year after the Duchess wrote in a memoir that she’d caught a verruca after borrowing Diana’s shoes. Sarah places a bouquet on Diana’s coffin with a card which says: ‘My most darling friend, my Duch, I love you. My soulmate and partner. God bless you — Fergie.’
10.45pm
Outside Kensington Palace, Kathy Martin and her nine-year-old daughter are bedding down for the night. They will remain there until Diana’s funeral is over.
Thursday, September 4, 6.30am UK time/7.30am Paris
Trevor Rees-Jones is lying anaesthetised on an operating table at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris. Dr Luc Chikhani, one of France’s finest surgeons, is about to start a marathon operation to reconstruct his face.
Taped to the wall as a guide to how he looked before the crash are Trevor’s wedding photos. In them he is smiling in a top hat and tails. Dr Chikhani makes an incision along the line of an old rugby scar across Trevor’s face. The operation is under way.
9.45am
As Alastair Campbell, Blair’s Press spokesman, walks down the Mall to the daily funeral meeting with the Lord Chancellor, he is struck by how unpleasant the atmosphere is, with people angry at the continued silence from the Queen and the lack of a flag at half-mast on the Palace.
Hundreds of London taxi drivers have tied black ribbons to their aerials. London Transport has said it will divert buses away from the funeral route.
As Alastair Campbell, Blair’s Press spokesman, walks down the Mall to the daily funeral meeting with the Lord Chancellor, he is struck by how unpleasant the atmosphere is, with people angry at the continued silence from the Queen and the lack of a flag at half-mast on the Palace
11am
Princess Diana’s sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale is in Mohamed Al Fayed’s office in Harrods. He has asked to see her to hand over a silver-framed poem Dodi had given Diana, so it can be put in the Princess’s coffin. He also has a special message for her — Diana’s last words.
Al Fayed says a nurse at the hospital told him Diana said: ‘Please make sure that all my possessions get to my sister in Lincolnshire.’ Lady Sarah knows instantly that this was impossible. Diana arrived at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital unconscious.
On Tuesday the results of an autopsy on the driver Henri Paul were released, showing he had a blood/alcohol level more than three times the legal driving limit. But Paul’s family cannot accept that he was driving when drunk so have requested a second autopsy. It’s now being carried out under the supervision of the investigating judge Hervé Stéphan.
The tests will not only confirm the result of the first autopsy, but that there were traces of drugs in Paul’s system to treat depression and alcoholism.
12.30pm
The planning meeting over, the Lord Chamberlain asks Alastair Campbell and his Downing Street team to stay behind. He explains his ‘fightback’ plan for the Royal Family. They will attend church this evening in Scotland and tomorrow Prince Charles will visit Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace and the Chapel Royal where Diana’s coffin lies.
Most importantly of all, the Queen will do a live television broadcast to the nation.
Most importantly of all, the Queen will do a live television broadcast to the nation
Diana’s former lover James Hewitt is ill in bed at home in Devon. He’s been re-reading some of the letters Diana had written to him during their five-year relationship. ‘I realised I loved her more than any woman I ever have or ever will love,’ he wrote later.
1pm
The Queen in Balmoral is on the phone to Tony Blair, discussing her address to the nation on Friday. The Prime Minister is relieved that, although the Queen was reluctant to speak, she is now fully persuaded it is a good idea.
1.30pm UK time/2.30pm Paris time
At the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, the windows of the operating theatre are covered with screens to hide the medical team’s work from photographers with long lenses.
Five hours in to the operation, Dr Luc Chikhani hasn’t left the theatre. He is about halfway through. Every now and then he speaks to the unconscious patient. ‘Trevor, you will not die . . . I’m going to rebuild your nose now . . . We’re going to fix your eyes in a good position now so you don’t have double vision.’
On Saturday the hearse carrying Diana’s coffin will travel up the M1 to Althorp, so all along the motorway gardeners are busy tidying the central reservation.
Press secretary Sandra Henney, who very rarely appears on TV, is giving television interviews
3pm
The Royal Family’s press team are concerned that there has been no public statement to defend the decision to stay at Balmoral. So press secretary Sandra Henney, who very rarely appears on TV, is giving television interviews.
‘All the Royal Family, especially the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry, are taking strength from the overwhelming support of the public . . . They are deeply touched and enormously grateful,’ she says, adding that the Union Flag will fly at half-mast on Buckingham Palace during and after the funeral.
In black ties and black suits, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward are walking among the crowds in front of Buckingham Palace.
Protection officers are not far behind. The public’s reaction is being closely watched by the Palace and Downing Street. All goes well, and the Queen’s walkabout tomorrow will now go ahead.
6pm UK time/ 7pm Paris time
The premiere of Austin Powers at the Odeon Leicester Square tonight has been cancelled. The film company is removing a joke about Charles and Diana’s marriage before the film goes on general release. DJ Chris Evans has scrapped his TFI Friday show because he is in ‘no mood for jokes’.
A liveried Harrods van arrives at the queue for the books of condolence at St James’s Palace and another pulls up outside Buckingham Palace, giving out mineral water, tea and biscuits.
At the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris the 11-hour operation is almost over. Dr Chikhani and his team pull the skin of Trevor Rees-Jones’ lower face up to meet the top half and stitch the two together. It will be a few days before Dr Chikhani can tell if Trevor will look like the man in the wedding photos taped to the wall.
6.30pm
The Royal Family is returning to Balmoral from Crathie Church. Prince Charles’ car stops at the gates and he and William and Harry look at the flowers left by the public.
Prince Harry is holding his father’s hand as he reads the messages. One says: ‘I hope God gives you strength to get through Saturday and the rest of your lives.’
The Royal Family is returning to Balmoral from Crathie Church. Prince Charles’ car stops at the gates and he and William and Harry look at the flowers left by the public
Prince Philip, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry, Prince Charles and Peter Phillips outside Balmoral
8pm
Diana’s mother Frances Shand Kydd is in Paul Burrell’s home chatting to his wife Maria, drinking wine and chain-smoking. She declares that her son Charles is going to make a speech on Saturday ‘to be proud about’.
11.30pm
At the MTV Music Awards in New York, the Spice Girls are being awarded Best Dance Video for their song Wannabe. Mel C dedicates the award to Princess Diana. Elton John announces that $100,000 from the proceeds of the evening is being donated to the AIDS charities Diana supported.
At the MTV Music Awards in New York, the Spice Girls are being awarded Best Dance Video for their song Wannabe. Mel C dedicates the award to Princess Diana
Elton’s spokesman has denied it, but in fact lyricist Bernie Taupin has written a new version of their hit song Candle In The Wind and the words have been sent to Westminster Abbey to be printed in the order of service
There has been a great deal of speculation that Elton will sing at Westminster Abbey on Saturday.
Elton’s spokesman has denied it, but in fact lyricist Bernie Taupin has written a new version of their hit song Candle In The Wind and the words have been sent to Westminster Abbey to be printed in the order of service.
For the first time ever, the public will be allowed to camp in St James’s Park and Hyde Park tonight and tomorrow night. But the manager of the Royal Parks, Dennis Clark, has told his staff to remove any campers who light fires or cause a nuisance.
Additional reporting: NIGEL BUNYAN
JONATHAN MAYO is the author of Titanic: Minute By Minute and D-Day: Minute By Minute (Short Books, both £8.99). To order copies for £7.19 (valid until August 26, 2017), visit mailbookshop. co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. P&P is free on orders over £15.