Why was Lady Diana also known as 'People's Princess'?
Princess Diana was one of the most iconic and renowned figures of the 20th Century. Her extravagant and extraordinary life not only humanized the pre-existing notions around the British Monarchy, but it also created a revolutionary movement solely dedicated towards the welfare of the community.
On 31st August, 1997, when Diana, Princess of Wales, met with a tragic accident and died at a young age of 36, it not only left the entire nation in a state of shock, but also lead to a global outpour of grief and mourning. It was during this time, when the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair famously referred to Princess Diana as “the people’s princess”. And looking back at the humanitarian legacy she’s left behind, it is only fair to say that she truly lived up to the title she earned upon her death.
That being said, here are all the iconic instances from her life that helped her connect with her people and made her the “People’s Princess” in its true sense.
Photo: Getty images
She made sure that her ‘Royal’ identity did not come between her and her people
Being a member of the royal family does come at a great expense. Upon her marriage to the Duke of Wales, Princess Diana knew exactly what she was stepping into, but over time, she also understood the enormity of her platform and channeled it towards the welfare of humanity. While the world may have seen her as a royal figure, she made sure that her association with the royal household did not cause any barriers between her and her people. Many believed that through her conversations and meetings with the commoners, she not only listened but also cared about what they had to say.
She changed the way people looked at HIV and AIDS
During the mid-80’s, when the world was terrified by the thought of AIDS and the HIV virus, Princess Diana opened Britain’s first Aids ward in London. It was then when she broke the myths surrounding HIV and AIDS by shaking hands with a dying patient infected with the same. She de-stigmatized the myths and misinformation about the disease and made it easier for the infected patients to live a decent life.
Photo: AP images
She also dispelled the myth against leprosy
Similarly, Diana also challenged the misconceptions and myths surrounding leprosy and was the patron of the Leprosy Mission England and Wales until her death in 1997. During her first visit to Indonesia in 1989, she was witnessed shaking hands and touching the bandaged wounds of leprosy patients, which not only broke away from the existing beliefs around the disease, but also changed the way people looked at it.
She was open to mental health discussions and normalized it by speaking her own truth
After formally separating with her husband, Prince Phillips, in 1992, Princess Diana candidly spoke about her husband’s infidelity in an interview and also expressed her experience with postpartum depression, Bulimia and self-harm. Not only did her words normalize the existence of mental condition in the society but also opened discussions surrounding the same.
She strongly supported the campaigns demanding a ban on landmines
One of the greatest works of humanity associated with Princess Diana is her advocacy against landmines that not only destroyed lives but also gravely destructed nature. Shortly before her passing away in 1997, Princess Diana visited Bosnia and Angola, where she walked through the active landmines wearing a visor and bomb-proof breastplate. In an interview with a local press, Diana stated, “I’d read the statistics that Angola has the highest percentage of amputees anywhere in the world…that one person in every 333 had lost a limb, most of them through land mine explosions. But that hadn’t prepared me for reality.”
She was a strong advocate for the homeless people
In 1992, she became a patron and an advocate of a charity call Centrepoint, that helped needy and the homeless people on the streets. Majority of her charity work concentrated on the upliftment of youngsters between the ages of 16 to 25. She not only provided them with food and shelter but also helped them find a decent job.
- By Tenzin Chodon