Today in History: Princess Diana tragically dies in car accident

One of the most revered and recognized royals in the world at the time and likely still to this day. Diana was one of the only members of ANY royal family that I was aware of as an American. In the USA we tended to not be overly concerned with royals of any sort, but Diana's kindness and charity brought her to the forefront of attention globally. It's hard to imagine that she was only 36 years old.

The year was 1997

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Her outreach to those less fortunate changed the image of the Royal Family in that prior to her involvement they were widely regarded as "high society stuffy" (my words - hope that means something to you,) but Diana seemed approachable and more down-to-earth. Among the many causes that she championed were creating awareness of AIDS, bringing attention to leprosy (it was believed then and probably quite a bit today that leprosy can be spread by touch, which it can't), and she pressed for a woldwide ban on landmines.

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_{while there is no denying that many of her public appearances are staged, because they aren't just going to let the Princess wander around some landmines, her involvement made a dramatic difference}

She was also an incredibly devoted mother, and was credited with bringing her children with her around the world in a manor that was unprecedented with the Royals up to that point. Unfortunately, the troubles she had in her married life became a very public matter and the paparazzi stalked her relentlessly. Most people attribute the constant paparazzi presence as being a primary factor that lead to her death.

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It was inside the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in France that Diana met her untimely end. I intentionally didn't post a picture of the accident because that would be a bit disrespectful... dontcha think? It is widely believed that driver Henri Paul lost control of the vehicle while trying to outrun the rabid photographers.

There are a number of conspiracy theories out there about the crash being "planned" and this is attributed to Mohamed Al-Fayed, who publically stated this as fact. I don't want to get into that and i suppose it doesn't really matter now.

Her televised funeral on the 6th of September was the most watched program of any sort in the U.K., ever. It was televised in the USA as well and for Americans to care about the Royal Family, not just on a state level, but on a personal level, was something I don't recall ever happening previous to Diana.

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I'm sure many of you remember Candle in the Wind, which was rewritten by Elton John and performed before the funeral service. As famous as that song was, the funeral was the only time that this exceptional song has ever been performed live.