What was expected to have been a normal sleepy Sunday at the tail-end of the British summer holidays turned into a day of shock and reflection for many when the news broke that Princess Diana had died in a car crash in Paris.
Much of the nation woke to the news, unable to avoid the blanket media coverage.
Others did not hear about it until hours, or even days, afterwards - perhaps, from friends or relatives.
Holidaymakers abroad may have been unaware of the death until their return to the UK.
Whatever the timing, the actual moment when the news was heard became embedded in the memory of millions.
Many changed their day’s plans and gathered at places associated with the princess, leaving flowers and reading the tributes.
Where were you when you found out the news? What were you doing? Did it alter your plans? Send us your memories.
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8 comments so far
I do not remember where I was, or what I was doing when I found out the news. However, because of the death of this person, that I never met, and had no interest in, I was prevented from watching television or listening to radio for an entire weekend, as all such channels were effectively taken off air.
I feel that this imposition of sacrifice on those members of the public who felt no loss at the death of this woman, perhaps in the hope that we would somehow come to miss her, amounted to emotional fascism. At least the arrival of the Internet, and a vast increase in the number of channels available to the public, means that it will be much harder for the powers that be to repeat this mass shut off when the current Queen dies.
- Posted by alexi starI was just waking up in Vancouver…my alarm clock was set to radio and I heard the tail end of a BBC world service broadcast mentioning something about her death. I thought I must have been dreaming still.
- Posted by meliaI was driving my car going North on I-75 to meet some close friends for an early brunch when I heard on the radio that Princess Diana had been killed in an auto accident. Two of the women I was to join had relocated to other parts of the U.S. It had been some time seen I had seen them.
As I listen to details of Diana death, I began to cry. When I arrived at the restaurant, one of my friends was waiting at the elevator which would take us to the roof top restaurant. I saw she too was crying and we embraced so relieved to see a familiar face and share our tears. The gathering of my friends that morning is one I will always cherish. Diana’s death had brought us sorrow but also an appreciation of each other. We never had a reunion of the whole group again but for those few hours we were together.
- Posted by AnneI was very young at the time, and had gone downstairs to watch my cartoons, disappointed at the lack, I continued watching and saw the news. I rushed upstairs and told my mum (who had been asleep) that the Queen had died, as I didn’t really understand. She cried for hours when she learned it was Princess Diana that had died.
- Posted by SamI live in Texas (USA)and I couldn’t sleep. As I walked through the living room, I felt an overwhelming need to turn on the television set. It was around 1:30am. The tv voice said “Princess Diana is dead.”
- Posted by Pat RangelOf course I couldn’t believe it, she was alive and well just two days ago, I thought. It was so sad knowing of her death and waiting for her other American fans to awaken and hear the news themselves.
i was very young that time, some 8 years old,,,but even then i was heart broken,,,i always thaught her to be an angel,,,the most beautiful woman in the world,,,she died and i was left to learn more about her long after her death. now i am old and try to know her through books and sites,,,i miss her alot
- Posted by rose gillLike Pat Rangel, I was very young when I first heard the news. I had been watching “The Swan Princess”, when they interrupted the program for a news bulletin.
I ran into my mother’s office, where she was balancing her checkbook or some such thing, and told her that something was wrong with the TV and a lady was talking about a girl who died.
She looked confused and came outside to see what had happened, and when she saw the headlines, she just burst into tears. I couldn’t understand what made my mother so upset. She tried to explain it to me, but it wasn’t until years later that I fully understood what had happened.
Today I look back and realize the sharp contrast between my own innocence and the reality of the world. After learning more about this woman, I still mourn her death. Even though I never knew her, the story of her life still resonates with me. The world has lost a truly special and important person.
- Posted by MarieIt was a late Saturday night for me. The news came in of an accident involving the Princess of Wales. I decided to let sleep wait in those circumstances and in the early hours of Sunday morning the news broke that Diana Princess of Wales had died. It was necessary for the television stations to continue to run the story in the light of the tragic way the Princess died.
- Posted by Janet