In my 48 years there are many significant events I remember but I think the most memorable to me was the death of Lady Diana.
I was about five when she married Prince Charles and although my memories are hazy I remember the excitement.
They had a summer wedding near the end of the school year.
We were dressed in our gingham blue and white uniforms all gathered in the hall sat on rows of benches.
The moderate sized television was wheeled from the corridor outside the Heads office to the hall and placed in front of the stage.
Lots of excited chatter I don’t remember much of the actual event but I remember thinking how pretty she was.
She had this huge gown that spread like a wave behind her and she needed help to navigate the steps to the Cathedral.
This was my first exposure of seeing a real life Princess not just one in the books that I read at bedtime.
And so like many girls of my age began my love affair with everything connected with Princess Diana.
For birthdays and Christmas Id get these annuals dedicated to her and her fashion.
I d spend my evening laying on my belly in our front room drinking in the fashion, how she did her hair and especially the gowns.
Oh the gowns were so beautiful, sparkles and diamond adorning the fabric.
As we get older we naturally become more cynical.
I was no different.
I discovered music, a darker music scene typical of the time that didn’t worship the Dianas of that time.
And so although my fascination and admiration waned I still secretly held on to that little girl who loved a princess.
I was working in London in the late 90`s.
The end of August 1997 my boss had asked me to housesit for them.
I was at that time single, they had a huge house with an incredible Bang & Olufsen sound system.
The night before, a friend came over and over wine and smoke we went through all their music.
The rule was one song each.
This was the night I discovered Hotel California Pink.
It was a late night as you can imagine no work the next day so a late start.
Waking up to the news on the BBC it felt surreal, it couldn’t be true. I literally remember feeling like Id be hit by a ton of bricks. She was still so young, in the prime of her life, she had so much more to do this couldn’t be the end.
I can’t really remember whether I cried, I think like most, it was he response from the crowds that eventually caused me to weep. It was so unbelievable that this could happen.
Ive tried to explain to my girls now just how massive a celebrity she was and how monumental the impact of her death was.
I also remember feeling like this was the start of something. After the initial shock the crowds wanted blood, they wanted to blame someone.
It had happened in Paris apparently she was being chased through a tunnel by photographers.
Someone had to be blamed.
The outpouring of grief began every newspaper, every TV channel and remembering there was only 4 in the UK then!
The tidal wave of grief was like a tsunami everybody had been affected by this.
I took my Mother and my Grandmother to Kensington to pay our respects and lay some flowers.
We had never done that before and I’ve never done it since but it felt that right thing to do.
The atmosphere there was something Id never experienced and never will forget.
The flowers lay like a carpet around the palace. he crowd moved silently, you hear the occasional sniffing of tears but people were silent and respectful.
Dignified and sincere in their grief for the Peoples Princess.
Like us you just felt you needed to be there.
Her funeral stopped the world.
Whatever your belief, religion, anti royalty or royalist we watched solemn in our knowledge that a we’d lost someone special.
Since her death there have been so many incredible people lost some like her in tragic circumstances but I feel because of the place in time, where we were, no social media nothing has come close to the impact of her death.
Thank you x
Wineoclockmama in luxembourg 