2008 Woodie Awards
Dwelling on Diana conspiracies shift focus off true legacy
Christina Kiser
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: Opinion
Today I was scrolling through CNN.com when I saw yet another headline containing the words "Diana's death."
I couldn't help it. I clicked on it.
The article detailed her bodyguard, Trevor Rees's plans to testify in court about what happened the night she died.
Why do I still do this? Even 10 years after Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car accident in the Pont d'Alma Tunnel in Paris, I'm still inexplicably drawn to the details of her life and death.
And I know that a lot of other people worldwide feel the same way. The consistently high level of demand from the public keeps the media reporting on anything concerning her. I think we'll still be hearing about her when we're 40. And I don't mean this in a good way.
There are probably several factors that contributed to Diana's tragic death, from the possible drunkenness of the driver, Henri Paul, to the fact that he was speeding (because of his inebriation perhaps?).
A lot of people also believe that the reason he was speeding was to get away from a horde of paparazzi pursuing Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed.
You could potentially argue that these photographers played a role in the accident.
And then there's the laundry list of conspiracy theories, like the one maintained by Al Fayed's father, Mohamed, that the British royal family had her killed because she was dating a Muslim, because she could have been pregnant with his child, and on and on.
You'd think that after 10 years we'd be hearing less and less about these details -- that the din would have quieted a little bit. But if anything, we seem to hear more about her last days now in 2008 than we did back in 1997.
I remember when it happened. I was 11, about to start sixth grade, and I came downstairs in my pajamas on that muggy August morning to see my dad staring at the TV in shock.
A few days later we watched the funeral, saw Prince Harry place a card to "Mummy" on the casket, and kept thinking this was a dream we were on the verge of waking up from.
I couldn't help it. I clicked on it.
The article detailed her bodyguard, Trevor Rees's plans to testify in court about what happened the night she died.
Why do I still do this? Even 10 years after Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car accident in the Pont d'Alma Tunnel in Paris, I'm still inexplicably drawn to the details of her life and death.
And I know that a lot of other people worldwide feel the same way. The consistently high level of demand from the public keeps the media reporting on anything concerning her. I think we'll still be hearing about her when we're 40. And I don't mean this in a good way.
There are probably several factors that contributed to Diana's tragic death, from the possible drunkenness of the driver, Henri Paul, to the fact that he was speeding (because of his inebriation perhaps?).
A lot of people also believe that the reason he was speeding was to get away from a horde of paparazzi pursuing Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed.
You could potentially argue that these photographers played a role in the accident.
And then there's the laundry list of conspiracy theories, like the one maintained by Al Fayed's father, Mohamed, that the British royal family had her killed because she was dating a Muslim, because she could have been pregnant with his child, and on and on.
You'd think that after 10 years we'd be hearing less and less about these details -- that the din would have quieted a little bit. But if anything, we seem to hear more about her last days now in 2008 than we did back in 1997.
I remember when it happened. I was 11, about to start sixth grade, and I came downstairs in my pajamas on that muggy August morning to see my dad staring at the TV in shock.
A few days later we watched the funeral, saw Prince Harry place a card to "Mummy" on the casket, and kept thinking this was a dream we were on the verge of waking up from.
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