Reliving History By Proxy.

The story of Diana.

A bit of a poser for me and a reminder of time flitting by. I have just come home after helping two Matric students with their English. A summary of a newspaper article was on the agenda. The story of Diana. Princess Diana that is because it has dawned on me that only few people make the associtation.

The story told was part of my life. Her wedding, marriage and funeral were woven into my life as time markers ( I still remember where I watched the wedding and where I was when her death was announced ), as most of us couldn't get enough of Diana. Magazines with her on the cover were the most coveted, books about her were treasured and the Princess Di hairdo was the most copied of all. It was a modern fairy tale for us and hardly anyone could fathom that she might be unhappy after having married her prince charming.

The two girls clearly weren't atop the intricate history of the British royal family and most of the events mentioned in the article that were replaying in my mind as if they happened yesterday were unknown to them. The wedding. Oh what a wedding it was. Our school allowed us to watch the whole wedding but I didn't mention it to the girls as they would have thought me over the hill, having attended school in 1981. Goodness me, a dinosaur.

There are so many amazing and interesting facets to this family from the name change, to the Queen Mum enjoying her daily gin & Dubonnet to the fact that Catherine has been brave enough to wear her mother in law's engagement ring. Now that I think of it, I should have mentioned the Austrian connection with Princess Michael of Kent, to make it more relevant.

History can be lived along side it although one doesn't know at the time and it can also be gleaned from history books. Whichever way, it lends colour, depth and hopefully understanding to how times unfold and how we can best learn from them.

Biggi