Diana, Princess of Wales’ funeral has been discussed by Earl Spencer, who revealed that he had initially written a “very different” eulogy from the one he read out at Westminster Abbey.
Diana, Princess of Wales’ brother had a very different eulogy planned for her funeral. On September 6, 1997, Earl Spencer delivered a powerful eulogy to the 2,000 people who attended the service at Westminster Abbey, and made a subtle swipe at Diana’s former in-laws, The Royal Family.
However, Charles, the 61-year-old ninth Earl Spencer, has revealed that he had a very different eulogy in mind. Earl Spencer had been flying to London from Cape Town, where he was currently residing, and a flight attendant had assisted him because he was “in bits” prior to the royal ceremonial funeral.
He had been looking for writers in his contact book to help him write the touching letter to his sister. I wanted to find someone who would make the speech for her after reading through my large, thick address book. And when I reached “Z,” he claimed, “I hadn’t found anyone.”
Earl Spencer continued, “I called my mother and said, “I can’t think who’s going to give the eulogy,” after getting off the plane at Heathrow [Airport]. And she said, “Well, it is going to be you, and I have an awful feeling that it is going to be me.” Your sisters and I have chosen to say “yes.”
He continued, “[It was a] very traditional eulogy, almost like “She was very good at this as a child” and everything else. Then I realized, “Well, this is ridiculous, that’s not who she was.” After the tragic Princess passed away at the age of 36 in a car accident in Paris, Earl Spencer “realized” that his job was to “speak for” her rather than speak for her.
He said: “And I knew I’d been left at that stage – it had no legal standing – but I knew she’d left me as guardian of her sons [Prince William and Prince Harry], obviously, the other parent being alive, that meant nothing, but it meant something to me.
“That sort of duty, I think. And then I wrote it in an hour and a half and, yeah, that was it, really.” He did “take one bit out,” referencing media mogul Rupert Murdoch, as he saw it “rather unnecessary”. During the eulogy, Earl Spencer spoke about Diana’s impact across the world, praising her for her humanitarian lifestyle and philanthropy.
Diana was, he said to the congregation, “the very essence of compassion, duty, style, and beauty.” She was a global example of selfless humanity. A very British girl who transcended nationality, a standard bearer for the rights of the truly oppressed throughout the world. Someone who had a classless, natural nobility, and demonstrated in her last year that she still needed no royal title to continue producing her own brand of magic.
Even though God gave you only half a life, today is our chance to thank you for the way you have changed our lives. We will always feel cheated that you were taken from us when you were young, but we must grow to be appreciative of how you came along. We only now realize how much of what we currently have is left behind, and we want you to know that life is very, very difficult without you.
After her divorce from the then Prince Charles, his statement about Diana “needing no royal title” appeared to be a rip-off of hers.
He continued to say that he and his family would not permit William and Harry to be “anguish” in any way. He stated, “On behalf of your mother and sisters, I swear that we, your blood family, will do everything we can to keep you from leading these two exceptional young men in an all-out effort to ensure that their souls don’t just get sucked into duty and tradition but can sing freely as you intended.”
We fully respect the culture from which they were both born and will always support and encourage them in their royal roles, but we, like you, also recognize the need for them to get as many different aspects of life as possible to prepare them for the years to come. You must have had high expectations of us, I am certain. We all fought so hard for you today, William and Harry.
Source: Mirror
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