Princess Diana- A Tribute

Yes, I am getting sucked into all the hype of the ten year anniversary of Princess Diana's death; but I wanted to share a tribute to a fairytale princess. Her life did play out more like a Greek tragedy, didn't it?

My sister, Beth, and I actually got to catch a glimpse of her once. It was a moment that I remember fondly, even though I was only five years old at the time. I still remember the excitement of our school, Clewborrough House Prep, in England. Letters were sent to our parents to inform them that Princess Diana's motorcade would be passing our school, so we children had to be smartly dressed. I still remember Mom making sure our uniforms were absolutely perfect, and I was excited about getting our American Flags ready. Now, since American flags are a little hard to come by in England ( they still call us rebels accross the pond), Mom armed us with cocktail flags (the little kind on a toothpick!) But Beth and I thought these "baby flags" were quite wonderful. Dad pumped us up by telling us that we were representing the United States of America, and had to be on our very best behavior.

So, off our school went one chilly morning. We lined one side of the street, flags ready! (Yes, I got much ribbing from the British kids over my tiny rebel flag, but I KNEW they were just jealous!) Our Fairy Princess was about to show. Now, imagine the dismay of 200 children when the Rolls Royce sped past. Imagine our disappointment. Imagine what our poor teachers were trying to think of telling us. All of the sudden, my teacher yelled "She's coming back! She's coming back!" And indeed, Princess Diana had instructed her driver to drive around. This time, her car drove very slowly past all of us. She was waving and everyone was cheering loudly.

I thought my 5 year-old little heart would burst. Because I KNEW, without a doubt, that Princess Diana came back because she saw me waving my tiny American Flag...