remained publicly composed. But the country had changed in the intervening decades and no longer wanted its royalty to maintain that famous British stiff upper lip.
The new prime minister, Tony Blair, did not help matters. Within hours of Diana’s death on Aug. 31, 1997, Blair made a public statement, calling her “the People’s Princess” — a moniker at once so fitting many assumed she’d been called that for years.Then, the emotional floodgates opened. Crowds of people cried on the street, embraced strangers for comfort.
“I killed her. I hounded her to the death. I followed her every movement. I gave her no peace. For I bought the papers. I read the stories and I looked at the photographs. They did this for me. How can I live with that?”As the days passed without a statement or even a glimpse of the queen dressed in black, her subjects’ anger grew. They wanted to see the grief they were feeling reflected in their sovereign.