|
Diana's brother, two sons and former husband watch the hearse arrive |
1997: Diana's funeral watched by millions |
England have
Britain and the world have said farewell to Diana, Princess of Wales, at the end of an unprecedented week of mourning.
A four mile procession brought her coffin to Westminster Abbey, where politicians and celebrities joined the Royal Family in a subduedcongregation.
Over a million people lined the route of the funeralcortegeto the abbey and along her final journey to the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire.
The day began at 0908 BST, when the coffin left Kensington Palace on a gun carriage.
Some of the crowd wept, some applauded quietly, but most watched in silence.
On top of the coffin was a poignant reminder that this woman loved by millions was also a mother - a card to "Mummy" from one of her sons.
The two princes, William and Harry, joined their father, grandfather and the princess' brother walking behind the coffin.
Other members of the Royal Family watched the funeral cortege pass from the gates of Buckingham Palace.
The union jack on top of the palace was lowered to half mast for the first time ever.
Both Diana's sisters read tributes to her at the funeral service and Elton John played his re-worked version of Candle in the Wind.
Her brother, Lord Spencer, made a funeral address in which he described as Diana the "very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty".
He used the speech to blame the media for her death, calling her the "most hunted person of the modern age".
The grieving earl also pledged to protect William and Harry and prevent them suffering a similar fate. The sometimes controversial oration was greeted with spontaneous applause.
A very public day of mourning ended with a private ceremony when Diana was finally buried on an island in the heart of her family estate at Althorp.
|