The next day, the day of the funeral, came the biggest breach of protocol of them all. The queen stood with her family, and as Diana's funeral cortege passed by, she bowed her head. It was not a quick bow, nor a shallow one.
Late Queen at Diana's funeral
Respecting the feelings that the public had for Diana, Queen Elizabeth walked out of the palace with her husband Prince Philip and saw the flowers and messages that people left outside the palace.
Camilla may have been at Diana's wedding but she was not welcome at her funeral, which was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world. Still, to many her absence echoed around the ancient hall. The Queen made it clear to Charles that he could not take his paramour to the service.
Prince Harry 'cried only once' at his mother Diana's funeral.
The Royal Family's response
The Queen's first public address came five days after Diana's death. “I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being,” she said in a speech broadcast to the nation.
What were Princess Diana's last words? The firefighter on the scene of Princess Diana's accident revealed the last words she spoke before her death in an interview with The Independent. According to the firefighter, Xavier Gourmelon, the Princess of Wales asked: “My God, what has happened?”
Although she was the 'people's princess,' Diana was not a Royal at the time of her death and so she was not eligible to be buried in the Royal Vault. Instead of being laid to rest in the Royal Vault, it was decided that Diana would be buried at Althorp House, the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire.
TheTalko website revealed how Margaret took her disdain for Diana to the late Princess' funeral, refusing to bow her head as the hearse drove past. The publication claimed: "Even though the story was true, Margaret could never forgive Diana for making the family look bad.
"But that day, it is Elizabeth who bowed her head as a sign of respect for the passage of Diana's coffin, the woman who wore more than anyone else had defied the conventions of the palace."
According to the Paris public prosecutors' office, blood analysis revealed the driver, Paul, had been found to have a blood alcohol content that exceeded France's legal limits. Additionally, Diana, Fayed and Paul were not wearing seat belts, CNN reports.
“She was very much a hit with the royal family—they really warmed to her,” Chernock says. “Diana worked very, very hard to ingratiate herself and to model what she thought being a princess would entail, and she did it very successfully.”
Diana's former husband, sons, mother, siblings, a close friend, and a clergyman were present. Diana's body was clothed in a black long-sleeved, three-quarter length woolen cocktail dress designed by Catherine Walker which she had chosen some weeks before, a pair of black pantyhose, and a pair of black shoes.
Queen Elizabeth II became mother-in-law to Princess Diana when she married Charles. The two appeared to share a friendly and formal relationship through the years. They seemed to be on good terms even after Charles and Diana's separation.
King Charles III's reaction to the death of his former wife Princess Diana in 1997 reportedly shocked royal aides, with an expert claiming that he 'collapsed' and cried uncontrollably despite his differences with Diana.
Change of the wedding location and date
On 22 February, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen would not attend the wedding ceremony, but would attend the church blessing and host the reception afterwards. The reason stated by the palace was the couple wanted to keep the occasion low key.
In 1992, a young Tom Cruise and then-wife Nicole Kidman greeted Princess Diana at the London premiere of Far and Away on July 30. Tragically, five years later Cruise and Kidman attended Diana's funeral at Westminster Abbey in London, along with Tom Hanks and more of the princess' famous friends.
After Princess Diana died in 1997, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, wore a navy suit to her funeral. At the time, royal watchers read his outfit choice as a tribute to the late princess; Diana was said to have preferred men in navy.
In the book, referring to Diana's death, Harry said he thinks that he is unable to cry in public because of his family's preference for not showing emotion. According to The Telegraph, Harry wrote, "I disliked the touch of those hands. What's more, I disliked how they made me feel: guilty.
William Technically Has to Bow to Queen Camilla
“The personal impact is likely the protocol changes that roll into action almost immediately,” an insider said shortly after Charles took the throne. “The family will now have to bow or curtsy to King Charles and Queen [Consort] Camilla.”
Yes, Diana and Camilla's Agonizing Lunch From The Crown Really Happened.
Princess Diana married now-King Charles back in 1981, and the current Queen Consort was in the congregation watching the ceremony. Camilla Parker Bowles, as she was known then, wore a pale grey dress to the service which many assumed was a white gown.
Sure enough, the queen bowed her head, the rest of the royal family bowed their heads, but the one person who remained ram-rod straight and barely acknowledged the passing of Diana's coffin was Princess Margaret, so even in death she would not forgive her.”
The Queen bowed her head as a sign of respect to her late daughter-in-law, Princess Diana.
Diana was buried later that day in a private ceremony in Althorp Park, the Spencer family estate. She was wearing a black woolen long-sleeved cocktail dress by Catherine Walker that she had ordered only weeks before she died, and holding a set of rosary beads that were a gift from Mother Theresa.
According to Royal protocol, Kate, along with other female members of the family including Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Meghan Markle and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, must curtsey to the King and Queen Camilla as they are the most senior members of the family and male royals are expected to bow their heads.