“Diana will always be remembered but I’m sure she will carry on her legacy,” admits Keith Lowing, a London pensioner, of the new Princess of Wales Catherine’s appointment, the first since the death of the popular Lady Di 25 years ago.
Keith and his wife Kathleen rest on a bench on this gray morning in the gardens of Kensington Palace, home of Diana and her children, Princes William and Harry, who are married to the new King Charles III.
The British live in a new era. His queen for 70 years, Elizabeth II. He died on Thursday, giving way to his son Carlos. But her rise has been accompanied by another symbolic change: the arrival of the first Princess of Wales since Diana’s death in 1997.
Diana is a revered figure. His revelations about Carlos’ romance with Camila, his own love affairs and the ability of the current monarch to rule in an extraordinary 1995 interview stuck in the collective memory.
Her tragic death in an accident on 31 August 1997 in Paris and Elizabeth II’s initial reluctance to cancel her holiday at Balmoral to return to London finally consecrated her in the hearts of the British and increased his worldwide fame.
“Diana was a very important princess and was very loved by people. She doesn’t represent the crown as much as the people. Diana shaped a lot,” María Aragón, a 21-year-old Spanish tourist, told AFP Kensington Palace.
Not far from the 2021 memorial to Diana, Rebecca Brunswig, a 74-year-old American tourist, recalls her “numerous humanitarian visits,” her commitment to “AIDS sufferers,” and her “wonderful compassion for those less fortunate.”
“I love Diana, but also Kate”
The title of Princess of Wales is given to the wife of the heir to the British Crown and her current work is mainly focused on social causes. Before Diana who modernized it, the last to hold it was Maria de Teckin the first decade of the 20th century.
Doubts quickly arose as to whether Catalina, 40 and a commoner before she met Guillermo, She will do credit to her late mother-in-law. A Palace source told the press that “he appreciated the history attached to this role” but that he will pursue “his own path”.
Catherine, who studies early life development, launched the Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood in July 2021.
Citizens polled by AFP have no doubt that William’s wife will do “a good job as Princess of Wales” and as an “ambassador”, according to Val Bennett, a 75-year-old pensioner who lives in Saint Albans, north of London.
“She is an amazing princess and I can’t wait to see her as queen. I think she’s very elegant, beautiful and represents the monarchy very well from the start,” says Selma White, a 40-year-old lawyer. “I love Diana, but I also love Kate,” she adds.
Criticism of her inexperience in royal manners accompanied Kate Middleton’s arrival into the royal family after marrying William in 2011, but she became a role model for her attitude and image of a happy family.
Her popularity was already established when her sister-in-law, American actress Meghan Markle, accused her of making her cry during a explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, further distancing Diana’s children.
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The kings expert Richard Fitzwilliams ruled out in The Guardian newspaper that there would be a comparison in the end Catalina with Diana “because Kate isn’t Camila”. When she married then-Prince of Wales Charles in 2005, Camila was not given the title of Princess of Wales, which was closely associated with Diana.
Catherine, the most popular member of the royal family with 68% approval and behind only the late Queen (75%) according to a spring poll by YouGov, could also provide a lifeline for the popularity of a royal family led by Charles and Camila, who are less are popular .
“The focus now is on Guillermo and Catalina, (…) to work alongside our new King and Queen consort,” Ed Owens, an expert on the royal family for which Charles III needs his son in a monarchy without Elizabeth II, told Channel 4 .
Robert Hazell, a constitutional expert at University College London, therefore assures AFP that Catherine could privately become her husband’s advisor and publicly help to keep the royal family’s popularity “among the youngest” who are more disenchanted with the monarchical institution.