Shaheer Ahmed
25 years ago, on Aug. 31, 1997, the world stopped.
As news broke that Princess Diana, an inspiration to many and only 36 years old, had died in a vehicle accident, gasps and sobs could be heard from every direction. In the days that followed, millions of people paid their respects to Diana by leaving flowers, cards, mementos, and presents to Buckingham Palace in an effort to come to terms with the tragic loss of the beloved People’s Princess.
It’s been exactly 25 years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. But her legacy of activism and charity lives on. For those who knew her, her adoring followers, the generations she inspired with her kindness, and her sons, who are now grownups raising their own children without her warm embrace, the sadness is still very much evident more than two decades later.
Diana died at age 36 on August 31, 1997, of injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris, which also killed her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul. When Diana was brought to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, she had extensive chest injuries and a concussion, amongst other traumas. However, she ultimately died from internal bleeding on the morning of Aug. 31, 1997, at 36.
Diana used her fame to draw attention to a number of humanitarian issues and philanthropic causes, and at one point was linked to more than 100 charities. She also opened Britain’s first AIDS ward in London.
Even decades after her passing, the public is still fascinated with Diana’s life, especially her tumultuous marriage to Prince Charles and the way the royal family treated her. Diana’s inescapable memory still lives on and will continue to live as a memory of a humble and peoples favourite princess.
