Remembering Diana,
Princess of Wales
by Live Music Head
(Former wife of Prince Charles killed in a car crash
in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France
along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver, Henri Paul
on this day back in 1997)
I first heard about the accident as it happened
because I was at home watching CNN when
the Breaking News banner flashed across the television screen.
No one yet knew if she’d been killed,
but broadcasters were quickly scrambling for details to report.
Some guy called the station to say he was at the accident scene,
a passerby,
and went on to describe Diana’s body looking very dead
splayed across the hood of the car covered in blood and glass.
Just as that horrific image was settling in,
the caller laughed and hung up.
It was a prank.
But it wasn’t much longer after that,
the Princess was indeed reported dead.
The next morning,
I saw the front page of The Toronto Sun
from the corner newspaper box.
The headline screamed “DI DEAD!”
Now I was never much of a follower of The Royal Family,
yet I found myself up all night watching her funeral,
moved beyond belief by the images of the horse-drawn carriage
as it carried her casket
through the London streets to Westminster Abbey
with the constant ringing of church bells in the distance.
And William and Harry following,
now mother-less little Princes
left behind.
Completely heartbreaking.
I couldn't stop watching.
I was very saddened and moved.
And bothered
about the circumstances surrounding her death.
I cried my eyes out.
My then-boyfriend,
a brilliant stand-up comedian,
was with me when the breaking news hit CNN,
but he didn’t watch the funeral.
He did however use the news
in the comedy routine he was writing
and actually got up on stage days later
to deliver the opening line:
“I wish I was a florist in England right now.”
Tragedy is comedy.
Saddened, moved and bothered,
and then saddened, moved and bothered once more
when I learned Bernie Taupin left Marilyn Monroe behind,
to re-write the lyrics to Candle in the Wind
for Elton John to sing at Princess Diana’s funeral service.
The song was originally recorded on the beloved 1973 album,
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
I cried my eyes out.
May both these unforgettable women rest in peace.
Elton John singing Goodbye England's Rose
(a re-write of Candle in the Wind)
at Princess Diana's funeral...
