Remembering Princess Diana on the fifteenth anniversary of her death

It’s been fifteen years since the The People’s Princess was laid to rest. Yet, even today she continues to be loved and adored as the force that single-handedly changed the face of modern British nobility.

LONDON: Princess Diana’s death 15 years ago this week made the British monarchy more attuned to their own image and changed forever the way the young royals behave to their subjects, royal watchers say.

Diana died in a car crash in a Parisian road tunnel on August 31, 1997 alongside her companion Dodi Fayed, triggering an extraordinary chain of events.

Within hours, a carpet of flowers began spreading from her home at Kensington Palace in London as Britons threw off their reserved reputation and mourned openly.

In one of the defining moments of his time as prime minister, Tony Blair described her as the “people’s princess”, striking a chord with the grieving nation.

Yet Queen Elizabeth II appeared to have misjudged the public mood, initially choosing to remain at Balmoral in Scotland instead of returning to London.

Amid accusations she was out of touch and acting coldly towards her former daughter-in-law – Diana and Prince Charles had divorced in 1996 — the queen eventually made an unusual televised address.

Diana’s funeral was heavy with emotion, not least when her brother Earl Charles Spencer used his sermon to attack the press who had pursued her throughout her adult life and who might have contributed to the crash which killed her.

Perhaps nothing illustrates the passage of time since Diana’s death better than the bewildered little boy who walked behind her coffin — the grown-up Prince Harry, now 27, made a very different public impression in recent days after his wild ‘strip billiards’ holiday in Las Vegas.

Despite her younger son’s sometimes raucous behaviour, Diana’s legacy can be seen clearly in her two sons and in William’s wife Catherine, the former Kate Middleton, according to royal historian Kate Williams.

“In the last three or four years the young princes have really taken over a lot of the mantle of Diana, so we think less about Diana and more about William, Harry and Kate,” Williams told AFP.

“It seems as if the young royals are very much in Diana’s mould. They are giving to charity, they are very caring and they are out there meeting the people and seem much less stuffy.”

Even before her divorce from Charles, Diana had thrown herself into charity work, especially championing the plight of landmine victims. Shortly before she died she visited Bosnia to meet people maimed by landmines.

Williams believes that if Diana were alive today she would be heading up her own charity.

“Diana had a very good divorce settlement and she was a great humanitarian and it is my belief that she would have spent that divorce settlement on setting up her own charity in which she did work for the poor, the sick and landmines victims.”

She would have taken a role akin to a UN Goodwill Ambassador, such as Queen Rania of Jordan or Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, Williams believes.

Diana’s death continues to resonate. Tourists visiting the memorial fountain to her in Hyde Park this week vividly recalled the shock.

Stephanie Cooper, a tourist from Billericay in Essex, said: “It was one of those moments like the New York attacks, it is one of those things like the death of JFK, you will always remember where you were and what you were doing.”

Filming has started on a new movie starring British actress Naomi Watts as Diana. Based on the recollections of her long-time bodyguard Ken Wharfe, it shows her being hounded by the paparazzi.

Diana’s death was not the only factor in the royal family’s lack of popularity in the late 1990s — a succession of divorces and scandals had also eroded their image.

“It made people in Britain very confused about what people expected from their royal family — were they not expected to set an example?” Williams said.

“But things have changed — the royals’ popularity has really soared and the queen is at her most popular since she came to the throne in 1952.”

Landmark events such as the wedding of William and Catherine last year and the queen’s diamond jubilee this year have boosted the royals’ standing — the queen even appeared in a spoof film parachuting into the Olympics opening ceremony.

“The royal family have tried very hard to market their image since Diana,” Williams noted.

Conspiracies

A limousine carrying Diana, and Dodi Al Fayed, the son of an Egyptian billionaire, crashed into the Alma Tunnel in central Paris. The initial French investigation concluded the accident was caused by his driver’s drunken loss of control. But soon enough, the conspiracy theorists got to work. First, it was said that the papparazzi caused it. Then it was said Royal Family did it. Then there were rumours that Diana faked her own death. Then things took a U turn and it was now Dodi that was the target. Till date, the conspiracies haven’t been put to rest.

The Royal Wedding

Diana married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, almost a year after the two met at a Polo match. The marriage was touted as a fairytale wedding and more than 750 million people saw it on TV. She was then bequeathed the title ‘Princess of Wales’ and Diana became a darling of the masses within a short time. However, their marriage fell apart in early ‘90s and they got divorced in 1996.

Diana hugs an AIDS patient

Diana made headlines all over the world when she hugged an AIDS patient at the Harlem Hospital in London. It was 1987 and AIDS had become an issue of major concern across the world. Her gesture was instrumental in dispelling the myth that AIDS will spread by casual contact. No member from Royal Family had done anything like this before and the media was completely floored by what she had done. A bold move indeed.

Ban on landmines

Diana became a prominent supporter of International campaign to ban landmines. She visited minefields in Angola and Bosnia in 1997, which grabbed a lot of attention in political circles and the media. Eventually, the use of landmines was banned in December 1997 when 127 countries came forward to sign the treaty in Ottawa. This remains yet milestone in her life, a major part of which was spent on devoting to several causes of major concern.

This photo released in 2008 shows Dodi Al Fayed and driver Hami Paul with Princess Diana in the backseat of the Mercedes before the fatal accident

UK cancels varsity licence, Indian students in trouble

London, 30 August 2012 - Indians are among the foreign students facing an uncertain future, including possible deportation, following the British Government’s decision to strip the London Metropolitan University’s (LMU) right to sponsor visas.

Both current and future students are in a state of limbo after the UK Border Agency (UKBA) revoked the university’s ‘Highly Trusted Status’ (HTS), meaning it will no longer be allowed to authorise visas, leaving even enrolled foreign students uncertain about whether they will be able to complete their courses.

Even worse, as many as 2,000 foreign students face deportation unless they find some other approved university or college that is prepared to sponsor them.

“The implications of the revocation are hugely significant and far-reaching, and the university has already started to deal with these” says a statement issued by the university, one of the largest in London.

“It will be working very closely with the UK Border Agency, Higher Education Funding Council for England, National Voice of Students (NUS) and its own Students' Union. Our absolute priority is our students, both current and prospective, and the university will meet all its obligations to them,” the statement said.

The Border Agency is concerned that some students at this particular university have remained in the UK without valid visas and others have used their visas by way of getting into the country as illegal immigrants. London Metropolitan has also been criticised for failing to adequately test both the English language and general academic ability of its foreign students.

Indians currently represent about 10 per cent, or 350 students, of the foreign student body represented at the two central London campuses of the university.

LMU vice-chancellor Malcolm Gillies has denied his university was a threat to immigration control. Responding to the British Home Office claims that the university’s licence was being revoked “due to a failure to comply with their sponsor duties and the resulting threat to immigration control,” he said, “The university is extremely disappointed with this news. It comes after six weeks of suspension during which the university has done everything it could do to demonstrate that the current state of its operations warrants continuing HTS (highly trusted sponsor) status and that a new management has worked to remedy past weaknesses.”

Students confused, in panic

Amitabh Das, a first year student from Kolkata studying for a degree in public relations, told The Tribune, “Definitely, we Indian students will be affected. It’s very sad that the university may not be there for us to continue and we may have to go back if the university’s sponsorship licence is taken away. I am a 20-year-old and completely confused about what to do.”

Another Indian student said in a message sent to LMU, “I have read that the university’s student visa licence has been suspended by the UKBA. Can you please let me know the status of your college now? I almost applied for the September 2012 intake for MSc Aviation Management. Now, I am in two minds. Please, please, please clarify.”

Student Union official Adnan Pavel said, “Our licence has been suspended for the last six weeks and the university is suffering. Government ministers say no final decision has been made, but students are scared about what may happen. Long-term, there will be a negative impact, especially for students from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh who will be reluctant to come. They will prefer to go to a university in countries such as USA, Canada and Australia.”

Pavel, who is from Bangladesh, told the local media: “If the university’s licence was revoked while I was out of the UK I might not be able to come back. I am the only son and my parents were waiting for me. But after I read the story and saw how critical the situation was I couldn’t fly. I paid £580 for a flight with Emirates, but I lost all the money because I cancelled at the 11th hour.”

He added: “Students are in panic, they do not know what to do. Some of my friends studying for PhDs just need to complete their dissertations. Which university will take them if they just need to complete one semester?”

Another Bangladeshi student and union official, 26-year-old Syed Rumman, 26, told London’s Evening Standard newspaper: “I am also on the university’s governing body. If I am forced to leave, the students would lose out on representation. The students are panicking. They have come all the way from their home countries and have left their families, and this news is causing a lot of stress for them. This would be a threat to higher education across the whole of the UK. People think a British education is the best in the world but they won’t come here if this happens.”

MESS AT LONDON MET

• As many as 2,000 foreign students face deportation unless they find some other approved university or college that is prepared to sponsor them
• There are currently around 350 Indian students at the two central London campuses of the university
• Most Indian students pay fee of about £10,000 (`8.6 lakh), discounted by £1,000 for their first year.

Once a Sloane Ranger, now a Sikh woman ‘warrior’: Meet Alexandra aka Uttrang Kaur Khalsa

Alexandra Aitken with her husband Inderjot Singh

 An English girl has hit the headlines in the UK for embracing the lifestyle of a devout Nihang Sikh.

Alexandra Aitken, daughter of disgraced British Cabinet Minister Jonathan Aitken, used to be better known for her addiction to parties and nightclubs. But Alexandra exchanged her tight dresses and plunging necklines for the more sober white tunic and five ‘K’s’, including the kirpan and the karha.

More recently, she was spotted in Punjab wearing a Nihang-style purple and white turban. She was clutching a tall spear in one hand and a bag of bananas in the other. It was in January last year when 32-year-old Alexandra surprised her family by announcing that she was marrying a Nihang Sikh - Ludhiana-bred Inderjot Singh, also known as Janbazz. Alexandra currently stays at Bani ashram, close to Anandpur Sahib, with her husband.
Shortly before her marriage, Alexandra changed her name to Harvinder, but when her husband said the name was meaningless, she changed it once again to Uttrang Kaur Khalsa, meaning victorious return of the warrior after battle.

Describing the first meeting with Janbazz, she said: "I was sitting on the roof of the Golden Temple at about 3am, and the most beautiful man I'd ever seen in my whole life walked in. He seemed 100 per cent man, gentle and intuitive and poetic and sensitive, but also extraordinarily strong and manly. And you don't see many of these around. So I was like: "Oh wow!"'

Following their wedding, her friends received an email message which read: “Hi, heavenly friends. A very funny forgiving huge hearted saintly hero was adventurous enough to marry me! We'll have celebrations in London and LA soon. Hope you'll join us.”

By her own admission, Utrrang said her parents were upset as they could not attend the wedding, which had been arranged at such short notice. But they were soon reconciled. “'When I said, "Daddy, I might be wearing a turban the next time you see me" it was a bit of a shock. But my father loves my husband - its impossible not to. He's happy for us,” she said.

Former Cabinet Minister Aitken tried suing the Guardian newspaper over an article about his links with Saudi arms dealers. But Aitken himself ended up in jail after he was found to have repeatedly lied. Uttrang's journey to Sikhism started after she moved to California where she studied yoga, subsequently explaining that it was always her destiny to become a yogi. In a newspaper interview last year, she explained her conversion to Sikhism. "I don't really think of Sikhism as a religion. It’s more a path for anyone who is looking for something more spiritual.”

Past life: Alexandra in 2005 with her father Jonathan Aitken

"We live in a computer age where life is increasingly stressful . . .people are desperately trying to find a way to relax, to escape from everything. As I see it, you've got one of two options: you can either find a drug dealer, or you can find something that's going to give you a natural high. Everyone is looking for something. I've found Sikhism,” said Utrrang.

"But I didn't just jump on the first bus going. I did my homework; I've read just about everything," she said. "Frankly, if someone had told me 10 years ago, when I was living the party girl lifestyle in London, that a decade later I'd be a teetotal vegan (and living in an ashram) I wouldn't have believed them,” she quipped.

Alexandra Aitken’s new look — a spear clutched in one hand, a bag of bananas in the other, a dagger slung over her white tunic and iPod headphones tucked beneath a white and purple turban — is a far cry from the tight dresses she favoured in her days as an ‘It’ girl around London, the Mail Online reported.

The 32-year-old Alexandra took her family, including twin Victoria, by surprise when she announced in January last year that she was marrying a Sikh warrior. She also changed her name to Uttrang Kaur Khalsa.

She had first spotted Inderjot Singh in 2009 when she was practising yoga at the Golden Temple in Amritsar before meeting him on a second visit. Their wedding was arranged with such haste that her parents were unable to attend.

On her website, Alexandra says she lives with Nihang Sikhs — the sect to which her husband (Inderjot Singh) belongs — but is staying at an ashram run by a sect of yoga Sikhs in the village of Bani in Punjab. 

Interesting journey

• Alexandra Aitken, daughter of former British Cabinet Minister Jonathan Aitken, used to be better known for her addiction to parties and nightclubs. But Alexandra exchanged her tight dresses and plunging necklines for the more sober white tunic and five ‘K’s’, including the kirpan and the karha
• It was in January last year when 32-year-old Alexandra surprised her family by announcing that she was marrying a Nihang Sikh — Ludhiana-bred Inderjot Singh, also known as Janbazz
• Alexandra currently stays at Bani ashram, close to Anandpur Sahib, with her husband and is often spotted wearing a Nihang-style purple and white turban. She was clutching a tall spear in one hand and a bag of bananas in the other.

Man almost dies when mailing himself to girlfriend

Hu Seng hoped to pop out of the box and surprise her, but when she opened it he was passed out

One man's romantic gesture almost killed him when he ended up trapped in an airtight box for much longer than he should have been.

Hu Seng, from China, wanted to surprise his girlfriend with a present, so he decided to mail her himself. The Daily Mail reports he hopped into a box, curled into the fetal position and made a friend tape the box closed and send it via courier to his girlfriend, Li Wang. He was hoping when the box arrived at her office he would jump out of it and surprise her. But that's not quite what happened.

The couriers mixed up the address and instead of the delivery taking 20 minutes it ended up taking about three hours. Seng had very little air and by the time it arrived at Wang's office, Seng was unable to jump out and surprise her because he had passed out. He had to be revived by paramedics. He had a friend waiting at her office with a camera to film the whole thing.

"I didn't realize it would take so long," said Seng in a Daily Mail article. "I tried to make a hole in the cardboard but it was too thick and I didn't want to spoil the surprise by shouting."

The Daily Star reports if Seng told the courier firm he was in there they wouldn't have accepted the package. When animals travel they have to be in special containers so they can breathe.

ਦੋਹਤਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਤੋਂ ਜਾਣ 'ਚ ਮਦਦ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਨਾਨਾ ਦੋਸ਼ੀ ਕਰਾਰ

ਟੋਰਾਂਟੋ, 25 ਅਗਸਤ, 2012 - ਕੈਨੇਡਾ 'ਚ ਧੀ ਅਤੇ ਜਵਾਈ ਦੇ ਤਲਾਕ ਅਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਪੁੱਤਰਾਂ ਦੀ ਸਪੁਰਦਗੀ ਦੇ ਕੇਸ ਵਿਚ ਇਕ ਨਾਨੇ ਨੂੰ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਦੀ ਸਖਤੀ ਦਾ ਸਾਹਮਣਾ ਕਰਨਾ ਪੈ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਟੋਰਾਂਟੋ ਲਾਗੇ ਨਿਊ ਮਾਰਕਿਟ ਦੀ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਵਿਚ ਚਲ ਰਹੇ ਇਕ ਕੇਸ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ 77 ਸਾਲਾ ਟੈਡ ਉਤਸਵਸਕੀ 'ਤੇ ਦੋਸ਼ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਮਾਰਚ 2009 ਵਿਚ ਆਪਣੀ ਬੇਟੀ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਦੋ ਪੁੱਤਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਵਿਚ ਨਿਆਗਰਾ ਫਾਲਜ਼ ਰਸਤੇ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਛੱਡ ਕੇ ਆਇਆ ਸੀ ਜਦ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਪਤਾ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਬੇਟੀ ਆਪਣੇ ਬੇਟਿਆਂ ਸਮੇਤ ਉਥੋਂ ਜਰਮਨੀ ਰਸਤੇ ਪੋਲੈਂਡ ਚਲੀ ਜਾਵੇਗੀ ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਉਹ ਆਪਣੇ (ਸਾਬਕਾ) ਪਤੀ ਨੂੰ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਲਾਗੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ ਲੱਗਣ ਦੇਣਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੀ। ਪੋਲੈਂਡ ਤੋਂ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ 'ਚ ਆ ਕੇ ਵਸੇ ਟੈਡ ਦੀ ਇਸ ਦਲੀਲ ਨੂੰ ਜੱਜ ਨੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਿਆ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀ ਬੇਟੀ ਦੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਬੇਟਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਦਾ ਲਈ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ 'ਚੋਂ ਕੱਢਣ ਦੇ ਇਰਾਦੇ ਬਾਰੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ ਪਤਾ। ਜ਼ਮਾਨਤ ਦੀਆਂ ਸ਼ਰਤਾਂ ਤਹਿਤ ਟੈਡ ਦਾ ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਜ਼ਬਤ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਸਜ਼ਾ ਅਕਤੂਬਰ ਵਿਚ ਸੁਣਾਈ ਜਾਵੇਗੀ। 2004 ਤੋਂ ਤਲਾਕ ਲਈ ਚੱਲ ਰਹੀ ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ ਲੜਾਈ ਵਿਚ ਕਮਾਲ ਦੀ ਗੱਲ ਇਹ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਪੋਲੈਂਡ ਦੀ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਟੈਡ ਦੀ ਲੜਕੀ ਦੇ ਹੱਕ ਵਿਚ ਫ਼ੈਸਲਾ ਦੇ ਚੁੱਕੀ ਹੈ ਜਿਸ ਮੁਤਾਬਿਕ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਵਾਪਸ ਭੇਜਣ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਰ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਪਿਤਾ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਦੀ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਵਿਚ ਆਪਣੀ (ਸਾਬਕਾ) ਪਤਨੀ ਤੇ ਦੋਵਾਂ ਲੜਕਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਅਗਵਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਰੱਖਣ ਦਾ ਕੇਸ ਲੜ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਨੇ ਭਗੌੜੀ ਕਰਾਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ।