ROYAL GRIEF; QUEEN, FAMILY TRYING TO SHOW NATION THEY CARE.Byline: Fawn Vrazo and Michael Vitez Michael Vitez is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and published author. Vitez has written for the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1985 and is known for his human-interest stories. Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire Declaring they are ``hurt'' by public accusations they seem coldly indifferent to the death of Princess Diana Noun 1. Princess Diana - English aristocrat who was the first wife of Prince Charles; her death in an automobile accident in Paris produced intense national mourning (1961-1997) Diana, Lady Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales , Great Britain's royal family took several unprecedented moves Thursday to convince Britons that they care about her and her funeral service funeral service n → misa de cuerpo presente funeral service n → service m funèbre funeral service funeral n Saturday. In a rapid series of image-repairing measures, Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, or Elizabeth, may refer to: Living people
Bohemia Within hours of the announcement, the queen; her husband, Prince Philip Noun 1. Prince Philip - Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921) Duke of Edinburgh, Philip ; her son, Prince Charles Noun 1. Prince Charles - the eldest son of Elizabeth II and heir to the English throne (born in 1948) Charles ; and his and Diana's young sons, Princes William and Harry; appeared before photographers outside Balmoral Castle Noun 1. Balmoral Castle - a castle in northeastern Scotland that is a private residence of the British sovereign Scotland - one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island in Scotland to take their first public look at some of the millions of flowers and cards left by British residents in Diana's honor. An hour after that, Charles' brothers, Prince Edward Noun 1. Prince Edward - third son of Elizabeth II (born in 1964) Edward Antony Richard Louis, Edward and Prince Andrew, suddenly appeared outside St. James's Palace St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated on Pall Mall in London, just north of St. James's Park. History The palace was commissioned by Henry VIII, on the site of a former leper hospital dedicated to Saint James the Younger (from whom the in London to mingle with throngs of mourners who have gathered there in the five days since Diana, her boyfriend and his apparently drunk driver were killed in a Paris auto crash Sunday. In another surprise for the queen's subjects, her staff announced that Great Britain's flag will fly at half-staff over Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace (bŭk`ĭng-əm), residence of British sovereigns from 1837, in Westminster metropolitan borough, London, England, adjacent to St. James's Park. for the funeral. It will be the first time in British history that the Union Jack, and not the royal standard, has flown over the monarchy's chief residence and headquarters. The decision apparently is intended as a unifying symbol of British grief. The swift changes appeared motivated by a growing public outcry accusing the royals of snubbing the late Diana, the outgoing and fiery-tempered princess who often defied royal family will and protocol both before and after she and Charles divorced in bitterness a year ago. ``People power appears to be rewriting royal protocol by the hour,'' said news commentator Ray Boulton on Sky News Thursday night. Thursday's headlines in the British press expressed a saddened nation's outrage at royal behavior toward the beloved and beautiful woman known as the ``people's princess.'' ``SHOW US YOU CARE,'' said The Express above a file photo of the queen looking stern and angry. ``YOUR PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING, SPEAK TO US MA'AM,'' said the Mirror. ``WHERE IS OUR QUEEN? WHERE IS HER FLAG?'' asked the Sun. The media and the public have been particularly angered to see flags flying at half-staff on practically every building in the country except for Buckingham Palace. They have been unsatisfied by royal staff explanations that tradition calls for the palace to be flagless unless the queen is in residence. Thursday, the problem was resolved with the announcement that the queen will be returning to Buckingham Palace from Balmoral today, allowing the Buckingham flag to rise. The sudden royal family U-turns came just as the palace and Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, originally the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery (closed in 1539) in London. One of England's most important Gothic structures, it is also a national shrine. The first church on the site is believed to date from early in the 7th cent. announced final arrangements for Diana's funeral, which police said could be viewed by an unprecedented crowd of 5 million mourners filling London's streets. There is likely to be more public outcry over some of the arrangements. It was announced Thursday that neither the queen, nor Charles nor Diana's sons William, 15, and Harry, 12, will utter a single word during the hourlong abbey service. Instead, mourners will hear tributes and poems from Diana's two sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale The Lady Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia McCorquodale (born 19 March, 1955) is the eldest daughter of Edward Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, and his first wife, Frances (formerly the Honourable Frances Burke Roche). Diana, Princess of Wales, was her younger sister. and Lady Jane Fellowes, her brother, Earl Spencer Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. , and British Prime Minister Tony Blair Noun 1. Tony Blair - British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, Blair . Diana's friend Elton John Sir Elton Hercules[1] John CBE[2] (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March, 1947) is a five-time Grammy and one-time Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist. will sing a special version of ``Candle in the Wind,'' rewritten for the occasion by his lyricist lyr·i·cist n. A writer of song lyrics. Also called lyrist. Noun 1. lyricist - a person who writes the words for songs lyrist Bernie Taupin. In another surprise announcement Thursday, palace staff said it was still undecided whether Diana's sons and their father would even attend her private burial Saturday at her family's church at Great Brington 78 miles from London. ``That's subject to confirmation,'' a palace official said at a press briefing Thursday when asked whether the boys would see their mother laid to rest. It had already been announced that the queen would not attend the interment but instead would immediately leave the hourlong Westminster funeral service to travel back to Balmoral. Palace staffers said Thursday that they also did not know as yet whether Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry would walk behind their mother's horse-drawn funeral carriage as it slowly travels the three miles from her former residence at Kensington Palace toward Westminster Abbey. Press reports during the week have said that Prince William was demanding to walk behind his mother's body during the funeral procession, but that he was being discouraged by Buckingham Palace staff for reasons that were not clear. ``This is going to be a very public ordeal for them and at this time we have no way of knowing'' whether they will walk behind the coffin, said a palace spokeswoman, Penny Russell-Smith. ``It's a severely testing time.'' The fact that only the Spencer half of Diana's family would be active participants in the service raised the possibility of a rift between the Spencers and the royal family, who previously have enjoyed good relations. Diana's sister Jane, in fact, is married to the queen's private secretary, Sir Robert Fellowes. ``I can only repeat that the service has been very carefully considered by the families,'' Russell-Smith said Thursday as she was asked repeatedly by reporters why no one from the royal side, including Diana's own eldest son, would not rise to speak a word. During the service, the queen and Philip, Prince Charles and his and Diana's sons will sit on one front row during the service, with the Spencers on another front-row bench on another side. News photographers and film crews within the abbey have agreed to a palace and Spencer family request that no members of Diana's family, including her sons, be shown during the service itself. At the end of the service, London and all of Great Britain will observe a minute of silence in Diana's honor. Her body will then be taken to a hearse, which will travel slowly north past crowd-lined streets watching her final journey to the Spencer family's vault in Northamptonshire at St. Mary the Virgin Church, north of London. Also Thursday, London's Metropolitan Police announced plans to deal with 5 million mourners, who will bring London to a standstill as they attempt to catch a glimpse Verb 1. catch a glimpse - see something for a brief time catch sight, get a look see - perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight; "You have to be a good observer to see all the details"; "Can you see the bird in that tree?"; "He is blind--he of Diana's flower and flag-draped coffin on its horse-drawn gun carriage, accompanied by eight uniformed, ceremonial bearers. The carriage will be followed by hundreds of invited representatives from the charities to which Diana gave a great deal of her time. Police have three considerations - ``public safety, the feelings and dignity of those most closely involved, and the understandable wish for the whole nation to share its grief,'' said Sir Paul Condon, Metropolitan Police commissioner. He said he expected ``a very somber mood but also a very cooperative mood. This will be a day this nation will be proud of.'' Condon said the entire 27,000-member London police department will be mobilized in some fashion, but would not speculate how many thousands will be assigned along the funeral route. The commissioner indicated that security concerns did not play a role in any decision on whether the princes would walk behind Diana's coffin. ``We are prepared for any contingency involving, or not involving, the princes at any state of this event,'' Condon said. The funeral procession is expected to last 1 hour and 50 minutes, with Diana's body taken from Kensington Palace at 9:08 (1:08 a.m. PDT PDT abbr. Pacific Daylight Time PDT Pacific Daylight Time PDT n abbr (US) (= Pacific Daylight Time) → hora de verano del Pacífico PDT ) Saturday morning and arriving at the abbey at 10:55 a.m. (2:55 a.m. PDT) after completing a longer route extended by Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. The hourlong service will be attended by celebrities and notables from Great Britain and around the world, including first lady Hillary Rodham Rodham is an English surname which may refer to a number of persons or places. People Family of Hillary Rodham Clinton
The service will heavily stress the 36-year-old Diana's good works for sick, poor and elderly common people in Great Britain and the world. The opening ``bidding'' of the Anglican service will praise the princess as someone who ``profoundly influenced this nation and the world. Although a princess, she was someone for whom, from afar, we dared to feel affection, and by whom we were all intrigued. She kept company with kings and queens, with princes and presidents, but we especially remember her humane concerns and how she met individuals and made them feel significant. In her death she commands the sympathy of millions.'' WHERE TO WATCH TV coverage plans for Princess Diana's funeral. All times PDT: ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. - 11 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday, prelude anchored by Asha Blake and Mark Mullen. 2 to 5 a.m., live coverage anchored by Peter Jennings with Barbara Walters. 5 to 8 a.m., rebroadcast of funeral with some new material. CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. - 11:07 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday, prelude anchored by Russ Mitchell. 1 to 5 a.m., live coverage anchored by Dan Rather. 5 to 6 p.m., ``Farewell to a Princess,'' news special anchored by Rather. NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. - 11:30 p.m. Friday to 12:55 a.m. Saturday, prelude anchored by Ann Curry. 12:55 to 7 a.m., live coverage anchored by Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric. Rebroadcast on West Coast, 4 a.m. to 8:05 a.m. Fox - 1 to 5 a.m., live coverage anchored by Brit Hume and Catherine Crier. CNN CNN or Cable News Network Subsidiary company of Turner Broadcasting Systems. It was created by Ted Turner in 1980 to present 24-hour live news broadcasts, using satellites to transmit reports from news bureaus around the world. - 1 to 6 a.m., live coverage anchored by Bernard Shaw. 6 to 8 a.m., rebroadcast of funeral with some new material. 5 to 8 p.m., ``Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, princess of Wales orig. Lady Diana Frances Spencer (born July 1, 1961, Sandringham, Norfolk, Eng.—died Aug. 31, 1997, Paris, France) Consort (1981–96) of Charles, prince of Wales. : A Royal Tribute,'' news special anchored by Shaw. Fox News Channel - 10 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, live coverage anchored by Brit Hume and Catherine Crier. 6 to 9 a.m., rebroadcast of funeral. MSNBC MSNBC Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company - 9 to 10 p.m. Friday, prelude anchored by Brian Williams. 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., simulcast with NBC. 7 to 9 a.m., live coverage with Williams. Rebroadcasts of funeral at 9 a.m., noon, and 4 and 7 p.m. C-SPAN - 1:30 a.m. to end, simulcast of British Broadcasting Corp. coverage. Rebroadcast at 5 p.m. E! Entertainment Television: 2 to 5 a.m., live coverage anchored by Steve Kmetko and Linda Grasso. Rebroadcast at 9 a.m., with one-hour recaps at 2 and 5 p.m. CAPTION(S): Photo, 3 boxes, map PHOTO (color) Prince Harry, left, his father Prince Charles and Prince William, leaning, stop outside the gates to Balmoral Castle on Thursday to look at the floral tributes to the Diana, Princess of Wales. Associated Press Box: (1) Where to watch (see text) (2) A funeral worthy of a queen (3) What to expect Map: Procession route |
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