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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if any of you went to London for Princess Diana's funeral?

479 replies

ewenice · 14/04/2019 13:34

Just watching a documentary about the week following Princess Diana's death and the overwhelming outpouring of grief that crossed the country. We were living overseas at the time so had no idea of the effect it had.

Did anyone on here go down to London during that week for the funeral or to sign the condolence books?

OP posts:
barryfromclareisfit · 14/04/2019 19:57

There was no outpouring of grief in my house.

Toddlerteaplease · 14/04/2019 19:59

@Ali1cedowntherabbithole I thought the same. I adored that film!

WithAllIntenseAndPurposes · 14/04/2019 19:59

To the people who drove behind the hearse up to Althorp? Wtaf? How utterly intrusive and sickening

And I was 17 at the time. I remember seeing some woman holding up a royal wedding tea towel featuring Charles and Diana to the camera screaming and wailing and feeling utterly bewildered

Iwannasnack · 14/04/2019 20:02

I was 15. Same age as William. We went up at some point during that week to have a look at the flowers and messages rather than to mourn. It was quite a spectacle that I’m glad I saw but it does feel a bit odd now.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 14/04/2019 20:06

To the people who drove behind the hearse up to Althorp?

Huh? I didn't think there were allowed to ... didn't they close the roads in front of and behind the hearse or something?

WithAllIntenseAndPurposes · 14/04/2019 20:12

I was in Northampton on the day of the funeral visiting my parents. We watched the funeral on telly then drive to fields close to Althorp to park up. Many people had the same plan and it was quite moving as we all slowly made our way in a snake like procession across the fields towards the gates. When the funeral car arrived everyone fell silent as it turned into the gates. I'm glad we went. It was like taking part in history. And yes, I cried a little.

This, is nuts
Someone's childhood home where they were laid to rest. Parked up like ghouls

BoneyBackJefferson · 14/04/2019 20:15

Puzzledandpissedoff

Not just the negative comments, Boney - even "sad but neutral" met with rage

Yes, It was very much the sainted diana. Led by the press that by that time was turning or had turned on her.

IloveJudgeJudy · 14/04/2019 20:17

I haven't rtft. I did go to the funeral with DM and my nearly 3 yo DS. I'm absolutely not a royalist. DM is. I'm a republican, actually, but I thought it was an event that DS could tell his DC if he had them, that he'd been present at. We slept on The Mall. DS was in his pushchair and slept on a sleeping bag on the ground and DM and I lent against each other, sitting on collapsible stools.

The procession, particularly of the princes, was surprisingly moving. The flowers in front of Kensington Palace were incredible (I didn't place any).

I'm glad I was there.

WithAllIntenseAndPurposes · 14/04/2019 20:21

I'm sorry but I'm even more aghast someone would take a young kid to a funeral of a stranger what had you been on?

GremlinDolphin1 · 14/04/2019 20:21

I was working in London at the time and I did go and look at the flowers, (I just thought of the waste of beautiful flowers and stuff!) and I went to a separate service at Westminster Cathedral for her which was beautiful.

Just walking around Everywhere had a strange feel about it, I thought it was strange people being so upset about someone they didn’t know.

When my own father died some years later I felt quite apprehensive in the morning of it and I thought back to those young boys and how they must have felt being on show like that.

SlappingJoffrey · 14/04/2019 20:23

No one said publicly, “Oh I’m not interested in this, I didn’t know her.” No one, not the most outrageous social commentator or goady person down the pub. Yet apparently vast swathes of mumsnet were thinking just this.

No one you know, perhaps. I literally remember a discussion in the pub with my parents, their friends and children where a couple of people said precisely that. A range of views were held and aired.

And really, if you were somewhere that nobody was saying it, perhaps ask yourself whether that must necessarily be because they weren't thinking it. You mention that 3.1 million people watched the funeral. Seems low to me, but if you're right, that means that the vast, vast majority of the country didn't. In an era where viewing figures were often much higher than now.

SallyWD · 14/04/2019 20:24

I had nothing against her but the mass hysteria surrounding her death made me very uncomfortable. In my mind she was no better or worse than anyone else.

YouBumder · 14/04/2019 20:25

No I didn’t. I did lay flowers and sign a book of condolence in my home city though. It was just sad and shocking.

RuthW · 14/04/2019 20:29

No but I watched the car with the coffin in as it drove to Althorp.

aweedropofsancerre · 14/04/2019 20:29

SlappingJoffrey it was actually around 2.1 billion viewers across the world that watched the funeral.

However that aside I agree with you. Me and most of my friends and family were not interested and stated such, much to the horror of some

123confused · 14/04/2019 20:30

I did, I lived within walking distance of the route so it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

SlappingJoffrey · 14/04/2019 20:31

I'm finding it curious that there are several people on this thread who clearly are rather sceptical about posts from those of us who didn't participate in the communal grief, while nobody seems to disbelieve the posters who said they did go to KP, lay flowers etc. And yet there isn't any estimate, that I have seen anyway, suggesting that a majority of the population signed condolence books or watched the funeral, let alone travelled to participate. You wouldn't have thought it from some of the coverage at the time, but those things were all minority activities.

SlappingJoffrey · 14/04/2019 20:34

Google says 31 million in the UK- 3.1 a typo maybe? So not far short of half the population, and leaving about 27 million who didn't. But even then, some of us were watching and were feeling alienated and bemused by it. I watched some of it because my mum was and that's how I felt.

DaveyDifferentGravy · 14/04/2019 20:35

Can't think of anyone else who's used their fame in such a positive way. Bringing worldwide attention to landmines causing death/injury in poor countries. But hey, it's all about looking good on Instagram/Facebook nowadays so who cares...

Original poster
ewenice · 14/04/2019 20:36

The country we were living in had a condolence book at the British Consulate for signing by anyone who wished to. Not huge queues but it was busy. Seemed the right thing to do at the time (not sure why on reflection) but now seems a bit pointless as I don't suppose anyone has actually read any of the books - there must be hundreds of them.

OP posts:
BoneyBackJefferson · 14/04/2019 20:37

TinklyLittleLaugh
No one said publicly, “Oh I’m not interested in this, I didn’t know her.” No one, not the most outrageous social commentator or goady person down the pub. Yet apparently vast swathes of mumsnet were thinking just this.

I can safely say that on various forums ones other other than MN are and were available, posters were given a sound kicking for saying anything 'wrong' about diana, it didn't even have to be about diana, it could have been about the competitive grief, the way that it took over absolutely everything.

EdWinchester · 14/04/2019 20:37

God no.

My husband worked in Kensington then and I remember him saying about the stench of rotting flowers and the mounds of what looked like plastic bags as no-one had the good wit to unwrap the flowers.

Many people went slightly mad that week.

WithAllIntenseAndPurposes · 14/04/2019 20:37

I just can't believe what I'm reading in some of these posts
I almost have the same level of disbelief as when my father after watching on the day with my mother weeping and wailing said 'it's been an emotionally draining day' and me and my brother looked at each other in disbelief

Accountant222 · 14/04/2019 20:44

Someone I worked with went to watch, from Sheffield. I watched it on TV, it was surreal.

Parsley1234 · 14/04/2019 20:45

Yes I went up the night before we walked to KP to see the flowers and were out on the mall the next day. I’m glad I was there terribly sad

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