One Night In Paris

The ten-year anniversary of the untimely death of the People’s Princess has brought the expected concerts, prayer services, and television retrospectives. Her celebrity sons’, long-since the holders of the media spotlight, can be seen everywhere with greater than normal scrutiny with the collective reminder of their Mom.

Lost in the wave of reminiscence is the main cause of the tragedy. The death of Princess Diana was the first real example of Death by Paparazzi. An entrenched target of the camera vulture crowd, Diana received even more attention after her split with the two-timing Prince Charles than she got as the wife of the future King of England.

It was obvious to her that she was never going to lead a sedate life without the glare of the camera. She knew that film was going to capture every single escape from her home, and she quickly learned to use gathered throngs to her advantage. Diana deftly managed to deflect the spotlight to shine on issues that she held dear to her: global AIDS victims, banning landmines, the hungry, and on. She became a master of media manipulation, turning scandal-hunting slimeballs into information beacons for good causes.

But, one night in Paris ten years ago, the paparazzi turned. They chased the vehicle she was in down a street and into a tunnel. With that, the world lost a Princess and the tabloid photographers claimed their first kill.

In a case of being in the right place at the right time, I was working at an Alberta publishing house when the unfortunate accident occurred. The day after Diana died, a handful of us were summoned into the publisher’s office and given the word that we were going to put a straight-forward biography of the Princess together. By chance, we had one Dame Barbara Cartland under contract at the time. She was related to Diana, and I was able to speak with the Dame on numerous occasions while doing research for the book DIANA: A COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHY. In amongst the many fascinating stories I heard was an underlying theme of the desire for solitude. For all of the good she did, Diana yearned for a quiet, normal life.

In the decade that has passed, we have seen a new tabloid culture that blurs news and rumor. Stars are no longer actors or singers who are hunted by the paparazzi. They are now created by the tabloids, with no need for any actual talent - none more so than the ironically-named Paris Hilton.

A Princess died, and we didn't learn a thing. Sphere: Related Content