On This Day...

in 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris. She was 36 years old.


From Wikipedia:

An iconic presence on the world stage, Diana was noted for her high-profile charity work. Yet her philanthropic endeavours were overshadowed by her scandal-plagued marriage to Prince Charles. Her bitter claims, via friends and biographers, of adultery, mental cruelty, and emotional distress visited upon her by her husband and the royal family in general, and her own admissions of adultery and numerous love affairs riveted the world for much of the 1990s, spawning books, tabloid newspaper and magazine articles, and television movies. During her lifetime, Diana appeared on the cover of People more times than any other individual.

From the time of her engagement to the Prince of Wales in 1981 until her death in a car accident in 1997, the Princess was arguably the most famous woman in the world, the pre-eminent female celebrity of her generation: a fashion icon, an image of feminine beauty, admired and emulated for her involvement in AIDS issues, and the international campaign against landmines. During her lifetime, she was often described as the most photographed person in the world. To her admirers, the Princess of Wales was a role model - after her death, there were even calls for her to be nominated for sainthood - while her detractors considered her to have been mentally ill (possibly with Borderline Personality Disorder, e.g. Bedell Smith, 1999) long before her marriage and regarded her life as a cautionary tale of how untreated psychiatric problems and an obsession with publicity can ultimately destroy human beings.

As of 2006, the inquiry into her death by British police continues. A report is expected to be issued in 2007.

I still hold her memory very dear. Hearing of her death was heartbreaking.