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International desk: Fans and friends of Diana, princess of Wales were to mark the 20th anniversary of her death today as well-wishers lit candles and paid their respects at the sombre scene of her fatal car crash.<\/p>\nInternational desk: Fans and friends of Diana, princess of Wales were to mark the 20th anniversary of her death today as well-wishers lit candles and paid their respects at the sombre scene of her fatal car crash.<\/p>\n
Her children Princes William and Harry on Wednesday greeted the steady stream of well-wishers bringing floral tributes to the gates of London's Kensington Palace, where they grew up with the princess.<\/p>\n
And just after midnight in Paris on Thursday, a few braved the rain to be at the Pont de l'Alma tunnel where, precisely two decades earlier, her car smashed into a pillar, taking the life of the most famous woman in the world.<\/p>\n
One man lit several candles around the Flame of Liberty monument, which stands above the underpass and has become a shrine to the princess.<\/p>\n
“She changed the royal family forever.Diana was “revolutionary”, said Sian Croston, a 17-year-old student from London.<\/p>\n
“She will always be the people's princess,” she said, using the epithet coined by prime minister Tony Blair in the hours after her death.<\/p>\n
The crash happened at around 12:23am on August 31, 1997.<\/p>\n
Diana was killed along with Dodi Fayed, her wealthy Egyptian film producer boyfriend of two months, and his drink-impaired, speeding driver Henri Paul, who was trying to evade paparazzi photographers.<\/p>\n
Twenty years on, a few dozen bouquets of flowers and pictures of the princess have been laid at the Flame of Liberty by sympathetic visitors.<\/p>\n
“I was a child when she died but I studied her biography,” said German journalist Marie Hermann, 25, from Frankfurt.<\/p>\n
“l loved Diana and her commitment to charities,” she told AFP.<\/p>\n
Linda Bigelbach, 61, from Saint Paul in Minnesota, said: “I remember her wedding day and I remember the day she died.”<\/p>\n
In London, William and Harry, who were 15 and 12 respectively when she died, paid tribute to their late mother on Wednesday and were to spend Thursday privately.<\/p>\n
The princes inspected the dozens of bouquets left in front of Kensington Palace.<\/p>\n
Earlier they braved torrential rain to visit the White Garden at the palace, created this year to evoke the princess's sense of style and colour choices.<\/p>\n
They met with representatives from the charities she supported, including those helping AIDS sufferers and children in need.<\/p>\n
Harry told one group of campaigners that his mother's death was a tragedy for them too.<\/p>\n
“I can imagine for a lot of you it was like, ‘right, here we go, now we've got her, we've got the thirst, we've got the attention, now let's do something',” the 32-year-old said.<\/p>\n
“Then suddenly she's snapped away; if I can put it (this way), all of us lost somebody.”<\/p>\n
They then emerged at the palace gates to look at the heartfelt messages, pictures and flowers left in remembrance of their mother, thanking well-wishers for coming, and placing bouquets given to them.<\/p>\n
Handwritten notes on bunches of flowers read: “Diana, a brave princess, your sons have your courage” and “our country was so very lucky to have you”.<\/p>\n
“I was so sad,” recalled a tearful Lena Pettersson, a cleaner from Sweden who had travelled to London for the commemorations.<\/p>\n
“She cared about people, she was very special. Her sons are continuing her work, they are just like her.”<\/p>\n
Helen Zacharia, 62, who tied a bouquet to the gates, told AFP: “I come down every year because I've always liked Diana. I've never met her but if I don't come down I feel very sad. Everyone loved her.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International desk: Fans and friends of Diana, princess of Wales were to mark the 20th anniversary of her death today as well-wishers lit candles and paid their respects at the sombre scene of her fatal car crash. Her children Princes William and Harry on Wednesday greeted the steady stream of well-wishers bringing floral tributes to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":36233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n