Queen opens memorial to Diana

[Miss Mary]

Whoa, did you all feel the earth shake recently? I did when I read this article on CNN! It's about bloody time I say! And I'm not even British (well, my mom was born and raised in Scotland, that's close enough!)!
Mary

___________________________

From CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/07 ... index.html

Queen opens memorial to Diana

Tuesday, July 6, 2004 Posted: 8:09 AM EDT (1209 GMT)

LONDON, England -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has opened a national memorial to Princess Diana in London's Hyde Park on Tuesday following years of controversy and budget overruns.

The £3.6 million ($6.6 million) water feature has drawn both praise and criticism for its design, which is based on a large oval stone ring.

In her speech, the queen acknowledged that creating the memorial had been "no easy task" and congratulated the designers and builders for their work.

"To present a likeness seemed at best unnecessary for someone whose image continues to exert such a fascination the world over. To find some other way to capture her spirit has been the challenge.

"I believe that you have given the park, at the very heart of our capital city that Diana knew so well, a highly original memorial which captures something of the essence of a remarkable human being.

"I think Diana would have enjoyed it, and I believe she would want all of us to do so too," the queen said.

It was the queen's first official speech about Diana since immediately after her death in 1997.

She acknowledged the "difficult times" in the princess' life but said "memories mellow with the passing of the years."

"I cannot forget ... the Diana who made such an impact on our lives. I remember especially the happiness she gave to my two grandsons," the queen said, referring to Princes William and Harry, Diana's sons with her former husband, Prince Charles.

The queen paid tribute to Diana's "wider legacy" and her ability "not only to touch people's lives but to change them."

She also sought to use the occasion to heal a rift with Diana's family, the Spencers.

The ceremony marked the first time the two families have appeared together in public since Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, launched a bitter attack on the royals in his eulogy at the princess' funeral at Westminster Abbey.

The queen made a particular mention of Earl Spencer as she began her speech, and said she was opening the memorial "on behalf of Charles, William, Harry and all my family and of all the Spencer family with us today."

Earlier the two families had greeted each other warmly, with Earl Spencer bowing for both the queen and Prince Charles.

"It seems this is some sort of public reconciliation," said CNN's Paula Hancocks.

Dogged by controversy

The memorial -- by American landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson -- has been called chic and dignified, although others have criticized it as looking like a storm drain or being too understated for a memorial to a princess.

Water pours into the granite structure from the top of a hill before running in two directions. It passes over a variety of features, including air bubbles, steps and curves, before meeting at the end in a reflecting pool.

"It isn't grand at all, although one of the designers and one of the close friends of Diana said it isn't grand because she wasn't a grand person," Hancocks said.

"One friend who worked closely with Diana on many charity projects said they didn't want this memorial to become like a spectacle, considering Diana was somewhat of a spectacle during her life."

"The design itself is supposed to mirror the different cycles of Diana's life. The choppy water is supposed to symbolize her marriage and also her public life and the turmoil she did have to go through in certain moments.


Gustafson's memorial has been beset by squabbles and rising costs.

"It collects in a calm pool, which is supposed to represent the peace and the tranquility that she discovered at the end of her life.

"Also the fact that she loved children so much, it will become somewhat of a children's paddle pool at the bottom. It's anti-slip on the bottom, so children will actually be able to paddle in this pool," Hancocks said.

After the ceremony, William and Harry went on a short walkabout with their father to meet members of the public, as did the queen and her husband, Prince Philip.

Absent was Diana's former butler Paul Burrell, who wrote a book about his life as her servant.

He said he would not attend for fear that the occasion would be overshadowed by the spectacle of him meeting William and Harry, who accused him of a "cold and overt betrayal" of their mother. (Full story)

The fountain was open to a limited number of people following the ceremony, and organizers expected lengthy queues. About 1,000 spectators gathered for the ceremony, many of them hanging Union Jacks on the police barriers.

The memorial will fully open to the public Wednesday.

The memorial has been dogged by controversy since Diana's death in a car crash in Paris seven years ago.

Organizers have battled with red tape and squabbled over the most fitting tribute.

The project overran its budget by £600,000 ($1.1 million), and delays forced planners to abandon the original August 2003 opening date -- which would have marked the sixth anniversary of the princess's death.

The committee set up to oversee the project couldn't agree on a design, and the government stepped in to approve Gustafson's plan.

At one point, Diana's friend Rosa Monckton, who headed the committee, described the situation as a "fiasco."

CNN's Paula Hancocks contributed to this report.

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One final comment, can you imagine what it was like having the Queen for your mother-in-law? Poor Diana is all I can say......

Mary

[streetsoldier]

Gawd, how Her Brittanic Majesty must have been choking on every word...not to mention the discomfiture of Prince Charles, whose philandering SHOULD cost him the throne in favor of Prince William.

[Miss Mary]

Bill - you have such a way with words! Yes his philandering should cost Prince Charles the throne. Especially since he someday wants to marry Camilla. Can you imagine what would happen if that ever happens? I'm not up on even if it's possible for him to be King but I would think everyone would want Prince William in charge then. Princess Camilla or dare I say Queen? OMG, they'd revolt over there! I would and I'm don't even have a right to feel that way! It just wouldn't be right, after Diana was so beloved. Diana should never have married Charles in the first place.

Mary

[GalvestonDuck]

I just don't get what he saw in Camilla. And if he loved her so darned much BEFORE he knew Diana, why the heck did he marry Di? Didn't he realize he wouldn't look half as bad in people's eyes if he was with Camilla, but NOT married. Still bad...but the cheating made it ten times worse because he was being unfaithful to someone to whom he had committed to spend the rest of his life.

Some people just should not be allowed to get married. Hmph!

Thankfully, William got his momma's good looks.

[Aslkahuna]

Diana was no faithful wife either so that particular argument carries no weight. As for Camilla, it's up to the Archbishop of Canterbury to determine for although the Queen is the Titular head of the Chuch of England, the Archbishop is the religious head. The whole topic of Charles becoming King could be moot anyway since the Queen although in her 80's is as healthy as they come and the Windsor women tend to live long-her mother lasted to the age of 101. The Queen also appears to have absolutely no inclination to step down either.

Steve

[GalvestonDuck]

As I said, he was in a relationship with Camilla BEFORE he was ever with Diana. I never said she was faithful...I know she had her affair also. But his was there from the start. Furthermore, he was always the prince so he should have never brought the scandal to the Royal Family, if he had any respect for his throne.

But honestly, doesn't Tony Blair have more say than the royals? I don't quite get that whole British monarchy thing. Who is really in power?

[breeze]

Well, being of British descent, I am sure that
the Queen was swallowing a whole h*ll of a lot
of pride in that speech! I can only hope that
time truly IS mellowing bad old feelings, and, that
Diana is surely appreciated for her gift of
compassion and concern for those less fortunate.

Duckie, the British Parliment does decide on
most issues, and, though, the Royal Family
does most of the Pomp and Circumstance,
Tony does have to be careful not to step
on Royal toes!

[Stephanie]

Well, being of British descent, I am sure that
the Queen was swallowing a whole h*ll of a lot
of pride in that speech! I can only hope that
time truly IS mellowing bad old feelings, and, that
Diana is surely appreciated for her gift of
compassion and concern for those less fortunate.

Duckie, the British Parliment does decide on
most issues, and, though, the Royal Family
does most of the Pomp and Circumstance,
Tony does have to be careful not to step
on Royal toes!

Ditto that Breeze!

Duck - Camilla was married when Charles became engaged to Diana. I don't recall why they didn't get together before Camilla was married.

[Miss Mary]

My 2 cents on Diana's extra-marital affairs - I don't bloody care! She never, ever would have been unfaithful to her husband had he been a husband in the first place. She knew his heart was with Camilla, and that downright hurt. I'm not saying she should have actively sought men to have affairs with, but she was pretty lonely from what I've read. Not even saying she had the right to cheat but her marriage wasn't even a marriage. So I guess I forgave her or never even had a problem with her affairs in the first place. I just felt so utterly sorry that she devoted her life to this creep of a guy.

Mary

[GalvestonDuck]

I just like to think that somehow, maybe, she was at a really happy point in her life, sharing it with Dodi.

[streetsoldier]

Camilla was NOT a good choice as far as the Crown was concerned...her bloodline wasn't up to standard. Diana's was impeccable; her family goes al the way back to Plantagenet times.

Besides, Charles isn't going to marry Camilla until he is ON the Throne...if he does so earlier, he forfeits in favor of William; who has his mother's looks, temperament, and is much more associated with Earl Spencer than with his father, especially in his formative years.

NOW, for the "ugly" part...if Charles DOES become King, he has already stated that he would dissolve the monarchy in favor of a socialist state in Britain; the Brits LIKE having their "Royals" around, and William would continue that tradition.

[breeze]

Exactly, Bill - and, I think that any attempts to
dissolve the Monarchy in Great Britain, right now,
would cause chaos! As you stated, "the Brits
LIKE having their Royals around".

[Aslkahuna]

Strangely enough, those in the Colonies also like having the Royals around.

Steve

[breeze]

Exactly! LOL, what would we do?

Here's the actual speech, for those of you
who have time to read it:

SPEECH GIVEN BY THE QUEEN AT THE OPENING
OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN

Secretary of State, Lord Spencer, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is sometimes difficult to believe that it is now
nearly seven years since we heard the news
that Diana, Princess of Wales had been killed
in a car crash in Paris. Certainly the days that
followed are etched on my memory as we as a
family and nation came to terms with the loss,
united by an extraordinary sense of shock, grief
and sadness.

By any standard Diana's tragic death held the
attention of the world. Central to this remains
the extraordinary effect Diana had on those
around her. Her drive to empathise with those
in difficulty, hardship or distress, her willingness
to embrace a new cause, her shrewd ability to
size up all those she met, allowed her not only
to touch people's lives but to change them.

This is her wider legacy. But I cannot forget -
and nor can those of us here today who knew
her much more personally, as sister, wife, mother,
or daughter-in-law - the Diana who made such
an impact on our lives. Of course there were
difficult times, but memories mellow with the
passing of the years. I remember especially the
happiness she gave to my two grandsons.

Such memories are most people's memorials;
the departed live on in those they have helped
to shape in life. But for some exceptional people
there is a need for something more, a permanent
and more public recognition. Creating a memorial
to Diana has been no easy task. To present a
likeness seemed at best unnecessary for someone
whose image continues to exert such a fascination
the world over. To find some other way to capture
her spirit has been the challenge.

I congratulate those who have created the memorial
before us. I thank both the design team for the
imagination which they have brought to this project
and those who have realised their concept with
such care and craftsmanship. I believe that you
have given the Park, at the very heart of our
capital city that Diana knew so well, a highly
original memorial which captures something of the
essence of a remarkable human being. I think Diana
would have enjoyed it; and I believe she would
want all of us to do so too.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of Charles, William,
Harry and all my family and of all the Spencer family
with us today, I have much pleasure in declaring
the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fountain open.

[streetsoldier]

breeze, you forgot to punctuate the speech with *choke*, *uh-hmm*, *hack*, and a peculiar "gurgling" noise heard about every three words or so.

Earl Spencer must have enjoyed Her Brittanic Majesty blurting this one out for the subjects-at-large...