Concert for Diana
Oh, alright. Don't hate me. Duran Duran dedicating Wild Boys to the Princes; Elton John opening the show and closing with that unfortunate version of Candle in the Wind, Tom Jones covering Kiss with horns, backup singers, and Joe Perry on guitar (only he could get away with it.) Joss Stone can sing up a bloody storm. Come on. Fab.
You've got to give HRH's (is that right?) William and Harry credit for the public relations campaign they're waging on behalf of their mother. Focus is all on her philanthropic work, how she famously touched the ill, the disabled, used the media to focus attention on causes. They inherited her skill at using the media.
In the age of Bono and Angelina and celebrities littering the halls of Congress to testify on behalf of one cause or another, Diana has been deemed the template for current "celebrity-humanitarians", as Tina Brown describes her:
The moment that Diana kissed the AIDS baby was the moment I really began to feel she was becoming a woman of importance. She understood the power of gesture and that her royal charisma could shine a light on very dark places and change the world for the better. Her greatest moment really was in the last months of her life when she walked on an uncleared minefield in Angola to publicize the campaign against anti-personnel mines. It was a magnificent act of personal courage and inspired use of media spotlight.
I don't want to fall into the trap of bestowing depth on her posthumously. I never quite fell for the fairytale. It has been pretty obvious for decades that that that family is bats. Still insisting on a virgin bride in 1980? Come on. But, she did focus on landmines, hugged an AIDS patient when that was still considered shocking, laughed easily with people of all backgrounds. In the midst of her frivolous, chaotic life, chaos to which she contributed greatly, she managed to do some good with the celebrity.
N.B.: The Queen and Prince Charles NOT in attendance. The announcers are saying that the Princes "banned the oldies from the concert" to focus on the future generation. "You don't want your grandma to come to a concert with you." Oh, and they hated her guts. Breaking News: Kate Middleton is there, but NOT sitting with William or his friends. I hope she comes to her senses soon and finds some cute, rich investment banker.
Related note: I was searching for an image of her to add to this post. Included in the Google image search is what is billed as the last photo of her, in the car after the accident, with someone attending to her. Terrible but inevitable. She looks asleep so not gruesome. In bad taste, yes. Published in an Italian magazine, purtroppo.
You've got to give HRH's (is that right?) William and Harry credit for the public relations campaign they're waging on behalf of their mother. Focus is all on her philanthropic work, how she famously touched the ill, the disabled, used the media to focus attention on causes. They inherited her skill at using the media.
In the age of Bono and Angelina and celebrities littering the halls of Congress to testify on behalf of one cause or another, Diana has been deemed the template for current "celebrity-humanitarians", as Tina Brown describes her:
The moment that Diana kissed the AIDS baby was the moment I really began to feel she was becoming a woman of importance. She understood the power of gesture and that her royal charisma could shine a light on very dark places and change the world for the better. Her greatest moment really was in the last months of her life when she walked on an uncleared minefield in Angola to publicize the campaign against anti-personnel mines. It was a magnificent act of personal courage and inspired use of media spotlight.
I don't want to fall into the trap of bestowing depth on her posthumously. I never quite fell for the fairytale. It has been pretty obvious for decades that that that family is bats. Still insisting on a virgin bride in 1980? Come on. But, she did focus on landmines, hugged an AIDS patient when that was still considered shocking, laughed easily with people of all backgrounds. In the midst of her frivolous, chaotic life, chaos to which she contributed greatly, she managed to do some good with the celebrity.
N.B.: The Queen and Prince Charles NOT in attendance. The announcers are saying that the Princes "banned the oldies from the concert" to focus on the future generation. "You don't want your grandma to come to a concert with you." Oh, and they hated her guts. Breaking News: Kate Middleton is there, but NOT sitting with William or his friends. I hope she comes to her senses soon and finds some cute, rich investment banker.
Related note: I was searching for an image of her to add to this post. Included in the Google image search is what is billed as the last photo of her, in the car after the accident, with someone attending to her. Terrible but inevitable. She looks asleep so not gruesome. In bad taste, yes. Published in an Italian magazine, purtroppo.
posted by Elizabeth at
8:34 PM
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