ダイアナ元妃、没後２５年　英仏で人々が追悼

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英国のダイアナ元皇太子妃が交通事故で亡くなってからちょうど２５年となった８月３１日、元妃が暮らしていたロンドンの邸宅や、事故現場となった仏パリの道路トンネル周辺では、多くの人々が献花などをして元妃を追悼した。
（写真はダイアナ元妃を追悼する人々が集まったロンドンのケンジントン宮殿前）
　ダイアナ元妃は、チャールズ皇太子とのおとぎ話のような結婚で世界を魅了したが、２人は不倫スキャンダルの末に離婚。元妃は１９９７年８月３１日、パリで交通事故のため死去した。
　ロンドンのケンジントン宮殿前や、事故現場となったパリのアルマ橋下を通るトンネルの上にあるダイアナ広場には、花束や国旗、写真などを手向ける人が続々と現れた。
　元妃の実家スペンサー家の邸宅オールソープ・ハウスでは、兄のチャールズ・スペンサー氏が半旗を掲げた。元妃はこの邸宅の敷地内にある池の島に埋葬されている。
　パリの追悼場所を訪れた元写真家のクロード・ゴーティエさん（７９）はＡＦＰに、ダイアナ元妃は「上品で、あか抜けていて、優雅だった。きょうはみんなが悲しんでいる」と語った。
　ロンドンで追悼に訪れたジュリー・セインさんは、「彼女は社会的地位に関係なく、すべての人に共感と親切さ、思いやりを示した」とし、元妃に関する良い記憶や功績を守り続けることが重要だと語った。
　元妃の息子ウィリアム王子とヘンリー王子は本人たちの希望により、公式の追悼行事には参加せず、それぞれの家族と内輪で母をしのぶ予定。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/09/01-22:10）

Well-wishers left flowers and other tributes on Wednesday at princess Diana's former London home and above the Paris road tunnel where she lost her life, to mark the 25th anniversary of her death.
The former Lady Diana Spencer, whose fairytale marriage to Prince Charles captivated the world until it publicly unravelled with revelations of infidelity and divorce, died in a car crash in the French capital on August 31, 1997.
A trickle of well-wishers laid flowers, flags and photographs for the self-styled queen of people's hearts at the gates of Kensington Palace, and at the Place Diana, above the Pont de l'Alma tunnel.
At the Spencer family home, Althorp House, where Diana is buried in a lead-lined coffin on a secluded island on the estate, her brother Charles Spencer lowered the Union Jack to half mast.
She was a global celebrity, retired camera operator Claude Gautier, 79, who came to pay his respects at the makeshift memorial in Paris, told AFP.
She was classy, sporty, elegant. Everyone's sad today. My flowers for her are on the inside, he said, touching the badge of his England football shirt.
The flowers here will wilt but mine will never die.
We're really missing someone like her today. If you look around the world, there's no one like her, added German tourist Ulrike Plank, 64, from Munich.
In London, well-wisher Julie Cein also said it was important to keep her positive memory and legacy alive.
She showed empathy, kindness, consideration to all people, regardless of their class in society, she added.
- Legacy -
Diana, who was just 36 when she died, remains widely revered as a fashion icon and for having cut through stuffy royal convention, particularly after her very public divorce.
She was also praised for charity work highlighting the scourge of landmines and encouraging a change in attitudes to people with HIV/AIDS.
In a sign of the enduring fascination with the royal, last weekend a sporty Ford Escort she once owned was sold for £737,000 ($864,000) at auction.
Her marital troubles will also feature in the latest series of the hit Netflix drama The Crown later this year.
Joe Little, managing editor at Majesty Magazine, said Diana had influenced her sons, princes William and Harry, to be less formal than traditional royals.
They are much more 'touchy feely' than they ever would have been, he said, pointing to William's hugs for England's women footballers after their Euro 2022 victory this month.
William can see there is no need for much of the formality in royal life that existed when his father was of a similar age.
Last week, Harry, who has admitted to mental health struggles because of his mother's death, said he would share the spirit of my mum with my family, with my children, who I wished could have met her.
Every day I hope to do her proud, he told a fundraising dinner in the United States for his Sentebale charity, which supports young people in Africa with HIV.
I want it to be a day filled with memories of her incredible work and love for the way she did it, he added.
- Rift -
Last year, the brothers unveiled a statue of her at Kensington Palace on what would have been her 60th birthday, remembering her love, strength and character and as a force for good around the world.
This year, the brothers will not take part in any official commemorations, preferring instead to mark the occasion in private with their own families.
William, 40, recently announced a move from London to the Windsor estate west of London with his wife, Catherine, and their three young children.
Harry, 37, now lives in California with his wife, Meghan, and their two children, after the couple quit the royal family in early 2020.
The Daily Telegraph said on Saturday that the brothers had agreed to draw a line under their public commemorations at the 20th anniversary five years ago.
But the brothers, who at the age of just 15 and 12 walked, heads bowed, behind Diana's coffin at her funeral, are also reportedly on non-speaking terms.
William has angrily hit back at claims in a television interview from Harry and Meghan of racism in the royal family.
The couple are due at a series of charity events in Britain next week, staying near William and Kate on the sprawling Windsor estate.
There are reportedly no plans for the brothers to meet, nor for Harry to visit his ailing 96-year-old grandmother at her Balmoral retreat in Scotland.