Fairy-tale life comes to tragic end

"She was the people's princess."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair

The news sent shock waves around the world: Diana, the fairy-tale princess with the shy smile, had been killed in a Paris car accident.

Her black Mercedes crashed at high speed in a tunnel in Paris on August 31. The princess, 36, died hours later at a hospital. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul were also killed. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones survived, but with little memory of the crash.

Authorities believe Paul was speeding to elude paparazzi, who were following Diana and Fayed from their dinner at the Hotel Ritz. An autopsy also found Paul was more than three times over the French blood-alcohol limit for driving.

The outpouring of grief around the world was unprecedented. Flowers began appearing at London's Buckingham and Kensington palaces within hours. Condolence cards arrived by the millions, and people across the world waited in lines for hours to add their thoughts to remembrance books.

Like Diana in life, her service was unprecedented. At Buckingham Palace, the Union Jack flew at half-mast for the first time ever.

Celebrities and dignitaries came to historic Westminster Abbey for the service, where Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, chastised the royal family and the press in his eulogy. Rock star Elton John, Diana's close friend, sang a rewritten version of "Candle in the Wind," which millions of admirers later snapped up as a memorial to Diana.

The royal family, initially criticized for not visibly mourning the woman who had dominated the royal spotlight, gained favor when Queen Elizabeth made a rare and unusually emotional television address. Ironically, Diana in death partially accomplished what she failed at in life: getting the royals to discard propriety to reach the people.