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The last time I saw Diana was on July 1, her birthday, in London, when
typically she was not taking time to celebrate her special day with
friends but was guest of honour at a special charity fund-raising
evening. She sparkled of course, but I would rather cherish the days I
spent with her in March when she came to visit me and my children in our
home in South Africa. I am proud of the fact that apart from when she
was on display meeting President Mandela we managed to contrive to stop
the ever-present paparazzi from getting a single picture of her - that
meant a lot to her.
These were days I will always treasure. It was as if we had been
transported back to our childhood when we spent such an enormous amount
of time together - the two youngest in the family. Fundamentally she had
not changed at all from the big sister who mothered me as a baby, fought
with me at school and endured those long train journeys between our
parents' homes with me at weekends. It is a tribute to her levelheadedness and strength that despite the
most bizarre-like life imaginable after her childhood, she remained
intact, true to herself.
There is no doubt that she was looking for a new direction in her
life at this time. She talked endlessly of getting away from England,
mainly because of the treatment that she received at the hands of the
newspapers. I don't think she ever understood why her genuinely good
intentions were sneered at by the media, why there appeared to be a
permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down. It is baffling.
My own and only explanation is that genuine goodness is threatening
to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum. It is a point to
remember that of all the ironies about Diana, perhaps the greatest was
this - a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in
the end, the most hunted person of the modern age.
She would want us today to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved
boys William and Harry from a similar fate and I do this here, Diana, on
your behalf. We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used
regularly to drive you to tearful despair.
And beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that
we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative
way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that
their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing
openly as you planned.
We fully respect the heritage into which they have both been born and
will always respect and encourage them in their royal role but we, like
you, recognise the need for them to experience as many different aspects
of life as possible to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the
years ahead. I know you would have expected nothing less from us.
William and Harry, we all care desperately for you today. We are all
chewed up with the sadness at the loss of a woman who was not even our
mother. How great your suffering is, we cannot even imagine.
I would like to end by thanking God for the small mercies he has
shown us at this dreadful time. For taking Diana at her most beautiful
and radiant and when she had joy in her private life. Above all we give
thanks for the life of a woman I am so proud to be able to call my
sister, the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable
Diana whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be
extinguished from our minds.
Back to Page 1 - Charles
Spencer's Funeral Speech for his Sister Diana
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