20 years since Princess Diana died in The View from the Terrace

Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. Over the past month there have been numerous documentaries on TV and at first I felt they were overdoing it but I found myself watching all of them and many were quite interesting. It has brought back memories of what we were doing at that time.

We spent the last week of August 1997 at my mother-in-law’s. We spent the Saturday visiting Bradgate Park, a large deer park in Leicestershire and a favourite place of mine. The first time we visited there a few years earlier, I had a strange experience. We had walked through the park with the children and stopped to rest in a grove of oak trees. The trees had been pollarded so the branches were low and the children each climbed a tree while we lay back and relaxed in the sunshine. I remember hearing them laughing and then I felt as though I could hear other children laughing too. I sat up and looked around but only our family were there yet I was sure I had heard the voices of more children than my three.

After the visit I read about the history of Bradgate Park. I hadn’t known that the manor house there was the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey, the 9 day queen who was executed at the age of 17. I read that when she had her head chopped off the family chopped off the tops of oak trees in the park. They must have been the trees we had been sitting among. I got to wondering if those were special trees to Lady Jane, maybe she had played there as a child and climbed them, they were very close to the house. I wondered if the laughter I had heard could have been that of her and her sisters ringing down the ages. I do believe that places can retain an atmosphere, who knows. Since then I have researched Hubby’s family history and found that some of his ancestors came from Newton Linford, the little village next to Bradgate Park. Maybe some of them even worked at the house. There could even be a genetic link, on the wrong side of the blanket of course!

Well that is where we spent that Saturday in August 1997. Later that evening we drove home. Hubby worked at a local golf hotel as night porter at that time and I worked some nights with a taxi firm taking bookings. We were both due to go to work that night. Looking back I can’t believe we spent the day walking around the park, then drove 120 miles home and then went to work on night shifts. Where has all of that energy gone?

I was working at the taxi office when the news of Diana came through. One of our drivers radioed in to tell us of the accident. At first we were told she was only hurt. Then later he called back to say she had died. There were 3 of us taking phone calls. We just sat there and carried on with our work. We didn’t speak a word to each other. We were in shock.

In the morning I drove to Hubby’s work to pick him up and went home. Tony, who was 9 then, was waiting outside looking very sad. He came over and told me he had some awful news. I told him I already knew and we all went inside to where 16 year old Chris and 12 year old Cat were watching the TV. I never did go to bed. Hubby went up after lunch as he had to work again the following night. I didn’t and I just watched the TV for hours as the news unfolded.

A couple of days later I had a call from the helpline where I volunteer to ask if I was able to do a duty Saturday morning. Without thinking I agreed. It was the time of the funeral, no wonder they were stuck. I’ll never forget that Saturday morning. Hereford was like a ghost town. There was hardly anyone anywhere. I have never seen it like that before or since. Nobody phoned during my duty, but we had to be there in case. Looking back I am rather glad I wasn’t watching the funeral live with the family. I would only have cried and I hate getting emotional in front of Hubby as he doesn’t get it.

I remember going to town the following week and Candle in the Wind was playing in all of the shops. There was a mass of flowers in front of the cathedral. I imagine every town had created a special place to put them. I think the laying of flowers in public places for people killed in accidents began around that time. I don’t remember it much before then.

All of that was 20 years ago. It was a strange time and one that will forever be etched on most people’s memories. One of those times that everyone can remember where they were when they first heard the news.

Last updated September 01, 2017