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| S P E C I A L S: | Diana: A Remembrance |
| Diana: A Nation Mourns |
Will Diana's death change British monarchy?
September 6, 1997
Web posted at: 2:36 p.m. EDT (1836 GMT)From Correspondent Brent Sadler
LONDON (CNN) -- Queen Elizabeth II of the royal house of Windsor has been seen as the very backbone of the royal family's commitment to ancient ritual, duty and observance of tradition. But the death of Princess Diana changed that perception -- a change that may well have been brought about by an awareness that royalty should listen to the calls of the common people.
Diana's tragic death led the queen to turn protocol upside down and address the nation with a moving tribute to the late princess.
"No one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her," the queen, visibly shaken, said in her televised address to the nation.
This tribute was paid by a sovereign who had for the most part of her reign enjoyed the approval and admiration of a majority of her loyal subjects.
But that admiration had begun to suffer over the past few years, and British citizens began to call on the royals to change.
The British public became saturated with the royal family and its never ending problems and headline-making scandals, which the queen referred to in a royal speech, when she described the past 12 months as an "annus horribilis," a horrible year.
The examples set by members of the house of Windsor appeared to erode public support for the monarchy, particularly the behavior of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who became increasingly estranged. Ironically, at the time of Lady Diana's marriage to the Prince of Wales, it was thought that she would help the Windsors modernize.
Despite all the marital problems, Diana remained a bright star with the public, even after her divorce from Prince Charles and her separation from the royal family.
Some political observers predict that Diana's legacy won't last, despite her near-celestial status. "She seems to have been a brilliant comet flashing across the sky. But I don't think she'll leave much of a trace," commented Times columnist Simon Jenkins.
But Diana's shadow has already made a dramatic impact: It was the people's will that the royal family lead the nation in a more open way in this time of grief. Queen Elizabeth II listened, and responded by making historic changes in tradition and protocol by sweeping back to London early, and lowering the Royal Standard over Buckingham Palace for a short time as a mark of respect.
Royal family watchers believe that the house of Windsor behaved in way that Diana herself might have approved. The monarchy was moving closer to the people, reaching out to the subjects, helping to soothe the pain.
Constitutional expert Dr. Rodney Barker of the London School of Economics maintained there was nothing new in this change of royal protocol. "Protocol is simply yesterday's inventions, and institutions like the monarchy exist by shaping institutions, by shaping tradition, by shaping protocol. There is nothing new in that to respond to events."
Even though the monarchy is going trough a difficult phase, the house of Windsor's troubles pale next to the pages of British royal history. Almost 350 years ago, Charles I was beheaded, and British subjects saw 11 years of civil rule under Oliver Cromwell. This marked the only break in the 1,000 years of British monarchy.
Britain's Charles II was finally restored to the throne by the will of the people, just as future kings and queens continued to rule by the will of the people.
The British public's reaction to Princess Diana's death exposed a thick vein of sentiment -- emotions which some say could help strengthen the monarchy.
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