How Princess Diana’s Death Threatened The Monarchy’s Existence

To fans, Princess Diana’s death signaled the end of one of the most amazing women in recent history. But to the British monarchy, Lady Di’s death actually pushed it into a crisis — a sixth of the British people wanted it abolished, while the rest said that it needs to change.

Princess Diana died on a Paris car crash on Aug. 31, 1997. The whole world mourned the loss of one of British royalty’s brightest stars. Fans from different parts of the globe quickly headed to London to pay their respects to the People’s Princess.

While Buckingham Palace promptly released a statement saying that the Queen and Prince Philip were “deeply shocked and distressed by this terrible news,” the royal family was generally silent regarding the princess' death. This did not sit well with the public that a mere statement did not manage to keep in check the people’s growing negative opinion on the members of the royal family, who were perceived as aloof and cold.

In his book “Charles At Seventy: Thoughts, Hopes, And Dreams,” Robert Jobson detailed the events after Lady’s death. “Diana’s death had led to a mass outpouring of national grief the like of which had never before been seen,” Jobson wrote. “There was an intense opprobrium towards Charles, Camilla and the Queen over their perceived coldness and aloof, haughty response.”

Knowing the growing negative public opinion, even those who serve the royals at that time felt that the end of the monarchy is fast approaching and that Prince Charles might no longer be able to hand down the crown to Prince William. “There was a time, after all, in the aftermath of Diana’s death — and even more recently than that, when many long-serving staff at Buckingham Palace were quite convinced that they were serving the penultimate monarch — when Charles wouldn’t have had a crown left to hand down to William,” Jobson revealed in his book.

Speaking about the numbers at that time, “about a sixth of the British people think they would like to see the Monarchy abolished.” That might seem not too significant, but the rest of the population that prefers to keep the monarchy intact, which is 71 percent according to a Gallup poll, wants one that is “more democratic and approachable.” In other words, they want the establishment, perceived to be cold and aloof, to change, which is probably closer to Diana’s brand of royalty.

When things normalized, the royalty was able to apply the lessons it learned after Princess Diana’s tragedy. It could no longer afford to appear aloof and cold like before. The later generation, in particular, is more adept at handling public image. Social media, for instance, has made managing their public image a lot easier as a single post can reach their millions of fans in an instant.