[phone ringing]
[classical piano music playing]
[music stops]
[phone ringing]
Balmoral Castle.
[phone ringing]
[shuffling]
Hello.
[indistinct chatter over phone]
Right.
I understand. Thank you.
[dog barking]
[engine shuts off]
Your Majesty. Your Royal Highness.
I had a call about 15 minutes ago from the embassy in Paris.
It's Diana, Princess of Wales. I'm afraid there's been an accident.
She was in a car crash with Dodi Fayed. She's been taken to hospital.
There's no news yet of her condition,
but we believe the accident was serious, and Mr. Fayed died instantly.
I've just had a call from my press secretary in London.
Apparently, it's all over the news.
[newsreader] Diana, Princess of Wales,
has been seriously injured in a car crash in Paris.
A man believed to be the Harrods heir,
Dodi Fayed, is reported to have been killed.
The accident is believed to have happened as the car they were traveling in
was going through a tunnel on a road alongside the River Seine.
French officials say the couple were being chased by paparazzi.
We'll bring you more details on this as we get them.
[helicopter blades whirring]
[in French] Straight to the morgue, sir?
[Mohamed in Arabic] No. Take me to where it happened.
[Selma in French] Pont de l'Alma.
[sirens blaring]
[overlapping chatter]
[cameras clicking]
- [police radios squawking] - [indistinct chatter]
[in Arabic] There is no power nor strength except by Allah.
There is no power nor strength except by Allah.
[breathes deeply]
[shouting mournfully in Arabic]
[sobbing]
[door opens]
[muffled low rumbling]
[no audible dialogue]
[phone ringing]
Balmoral Castle.
Mr. Janvrin.
- The embassy in Paris again. - Thank you. Robin Janvrin.
[newsreader] She was due to spend maybe 24 hours in Paris
before returning to London to see her children.
The accident happened shortly after midnight.
Diana and her friend Dodi Al Fayed had been dining at the Ritz Hotel.
There were four people in the car
when it struck the inside wall of the tunnel,
and, as you said, the Princess of Wales has been taken to hospital
with concussion, a broken arm, and cuts to her leg.
Witnesses at the scene were describing how... [dialogue fades out]
- [no audible dialogue] - [clock ticking]
[somber music plays]
[shudders]
[muffled low rumbling]
[somber notes playing]
[theme music playing]
[newsreader] Well, let's just remind people who are waking up this morning
to tell you the terrible news that Diana, the Princess of Wales, has died.
She suffered heavy internal bleeding in her chest following a car crash in Paris.
The prime minister, Tony Blair, said, "I'm utterly devastated."
"The whole of our country, all of us, will be in a state of shock and mourning."
"Diana was a wonderful, warm, and compassionate person
who people throughout the world loved."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family,
particularly her two sons." That statement from Tony Blair...
[Charles] I managed to get out for a walk.
[Camilla] Good idea.
[Charles] It's all so quiet and
perfect.
Innocent.
[Charles wails mournfully]
[man on TV, indistinct]
All one has is questions.
Why did she change her plans? What was she doing in Paris?
What caused the accident?
...are with her family and her friends.
The Queen and the Prince of Wales...
When are you going to tell the boys?
[sighs deeply]
I wanted to let them sleep.
Delay it as long as possible.
While they're sleeping, they still have a mother.
Of course.
...medical team here at this hospital.
[inhales shakily]
[exhales] This is gonna be enormous.
People have no idea.
This is going to be the biggest thing that any of us has ever seen.
[man on TV] As you say, Dermot, reactions and condolences have been flooding in.
[birds chirping]
[knocking]
Morning, darling.
[William] Morning.
[somber notes playing slowly]
I'm afraid you're going to have to be
very brave.
What?
[no audible dialogue]
[Janvrin] The princes are now awake.
And, I believe, the Prince of Wales has broken the news.
[man speaking on TV, indistinct]
Those poor boys.
His team have made a request
to have an airplane of the Queen's Flight made available.
- What for? - [cup clinks]
To bring the princess back from Paris
in accordance with arrangements set up under Operation Overstudy.
No. No, no, those plans are for a royal death abroad.
Diana was no longer royal, no longer HRH.
We must be seen to be doing this by the book.
[Janvrin] Indeed, sir, and I suggested as such myself to the Prince of Wales.
To which he asked if we would prefer the mother of the future King of England
to be brought back in a Harrods van.
Hm.
[Janvrin] I have also taken the liberty of drafting a short statement
expressing your and the Prince of Wales' shock and distress at the news.
Thank you.
And finally, the chaplain called.
Did you have any thoughts about going to church this morning?
We have to assume that there will be photographers.
[Philip] The entire family must come. Let me see.
But...
no mention of the accident.
[Janvrin] Eh, ma'am?
Ask the chaplain to keep to the usual service.
We want everything to be as normal as possible.
That's fine.
[man speaking French on TV]
[Selma in Arabic] We retrieved some of the princess' clothes
from Mr. Dodi's apartment,
gifts she apparently bought for her sons,
and a poem, engraved on a silver plaque.
[Selma] We believe it was given to her by Mr. Dodi.
[Mohamed] It was a love for the ages.
They were engaged to be married, you know.
Dodi proposed to her last night.
Return the possessions to her family.
I will also write to both the royal family and the Spencer family.
This tragedy will bring us together.
I am their brother in sorrow.
[breathes deeply]
[somber music plays]
- Thank you. - [woman] Ma'am.
[singing hymn]
[church bells tolling]
[somber music playing]
[cameras clicking]
[overlapping chatter]
[man shouts]
Your Royal Highness.
[in French] Mr. President.
Your Royal Highness.
[breathing shakily]
[groans softly]
[sobs softly]
[groans]
[crying]
[sobbing]
[crying] Oh God.
Oh.
[scattered light clapping]
[somber music plays]
Paris.
One of the busiest cities in the world, and you brought it to a standstill.
[Diana] Ta-da!
[Diana chuckles softly]
It was ever thus.
You were always the most beloved of all of us.
Thank you for how you were in the hospital.
So raw. Broken.
And handsome.
I'll take that with me.
You know, I loved you so much.
So deeply.
But so painfully too.
Well, it's over now.
Be easier for everyone with me gone.
[sighs]
No, it won't.
It will.
[pensive music plays lightly]
Admit it. You've had that thought already.
The only thought I've had since the moment I heard is
regret.
That will pass.
No, it won't.
[somber music builds slowly]
[inhales shakily]
[soldier] Quick march.
[footman] And you, sir.
[door opens]
[door shuts]
[dog whimpers]
Darling boy.
Where's Granny?
On a call.
The Spencers.
- [Philip] Thank you. - [Charles Spencer] You too.
- We'll be in touch. - All right.
[door opens]
- [door shuts] - How was it?
[Charles] Uh...
It was extraordinary.
It's another world.
We would have followed your progress
but we've put away all the televisions and wirelesses for the boys.
Yes, well, I, um...
I agree with your instinct, but I do think it's important
that senior members of the family keep an eye on the mood out there.
I thought we might concentrate on the mood here
and taking care of this family.
[Charles] Diana was part of this family.
Divorced from this family.
A legal severance.
An amputation
that you fought so hard for.
Not us.
We all wanted her to remain in this family.
But you insisted on divorce.
Which is why this is now a Spencer family matter.
And why we are keen to respect their wishes
for a small, private, family service.
[Charles] I think that would be a mistake.
The prime minister feels that the right thing is a public funeral.
A state occasion in all but name, and I agree with him.
But that would mean leaving Scotland
and participating in some huge spectacle in London.
Do you want to put the boys through that?
They'd have to walk behind the coffin, in front of all those cameras.
[Charles] And show their respects to their late mother,
as people will want them to do.
It's... always been hard for us to understand the connection
that Diana has with people, but the fact that it's inexplicable
shouldn't lead us to deny it.
I've just been out there. I've seen it for myself.
People taking to the streets.
Not just here, all over the world, in their hundreds, thousands.
And they will expect us to show grief, and compassion,
and for you to be mother to the nation.
If you don't mind, I'm concerned with being a grandmother to William and Harry.
That's my priority.
And I'd rather not be lectured on how or when to grieve or show emotion.
Particularly by the person who caused her the most pain.
[sighs]
All right. All right.
I admit, I...
I let her down in life.
But I will not let her down in death.
We can't have it both ways. Haven't we learnt that yet?
We can't be a private family when we want to be
and a public one when it suits us.
Time and time again, we try to have it both ways.
We can't, and it's time William learnt that.
Yes, he's a shy boy, but he's also a future king.
And when his mother dies and people grieve,
he has to behave like one.
[muezzin calling over speaker]
[man speaking in Arabic]
[man in English] Brothers and sisters, may Allah bless you all.
We are shortly going to commence the janazah prayer
of Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed,
the son of our dear brother
Mohamed Al Fayed.
At these times,
we ask Allah
to grant Mohammed Al Fayed
and his entire family
peace and solace.
- [drums beating] - [chanting in Arabic]
[call and response in Arabic]
[man speaking in Arabic]
[all responding in Arabic]
[somber music rises]
[somber music fades out]
- [knocking] - [door opens]
[in Arabic] Still nothing from the Palace?
[Selma] No.
But we sent flowers?
[Selma] Yes.
And letters and gifts. No word at all?
No.
And the poem I sent to be placed in Diana's coffin?
It was returned.
Without acknowledgement.
[door shuts]
Why do they hate me?
Is it the fate of Arabs to always be hated by the West?
[Dodi] Don't take it personally.
[chuckles softly]
[Mohamed] How can I not?
Look.
There's no mention of you anywhere!
It's as if only one person died.
But across the Arab world, in Cairo, Beirut, Baghdad,
they are calling me a hero.
You shouldn't look up to the West.
Of course I look up to the West.
You shouldn't.
Exalted expectations are not fair.
They can never be fulfilled.
[tearfully] Did I have unfair expectations of you?
Mmm.
Forgive me.
[sobbing softly]
Forgive me...
for failing you.
You were perfect.
No, I wasn't.
Be honest about who I was.
Because wounds will only heal with the truth.
[Mohamed sobs]
[sighs]
No, Dodi, no!
Don't leave me!
[sobbing]
[in English] It's good to see such a strong collective effort
as we mount a response to this moment of
national sorrow.
I'm delighted that opinion is coalescing around a public funeral,
and if all parties are happy with Westminster Abbey
as the venue for the service, my office will start to draw up a list of attendees.
Um, but we would recommend
that the congregation reflects the causes closest to the princess.
AIDS patients, landmine victims...
Sir, Prince William is not in his room, and no one can find him.
...assortment of establishment figures.
William!
[overlapping shouts]
- This is a massive palaver. - Anne, will you take Harry?
- He might be dying. - [Anne] No need to panic.
[engine turns over]
[doors closing]
[indistinct chatter]
[engines revving]
[pensive music playing]
[dogs barking]
[rain pattering]
[dogs barking]
William!
- William! - William!
William!
- Any sign? - No.
[indistinct conversations]
[thunder rumbling]
[Charles sighs]
[wind gusting]
- How could this have happened? - We'll do whatever we can.
- With all our staff... - Mm.
[rain pattering]
- [footsteps approaching] - [panting softly]
- He's coming back. - Oh, thank heavens.
Oh, what a relief.
- All right? - Fine.
[Elizabeth] Thank heavens.
Are you all right?
Fourteen hours that poor boy was gone.
He's never done anything like that before.
And if he is behaving so out of character, perhaps Charles is right.
About what?
That the rest of the country is starting to behave out of character too.
He's been urging me to help calm things down.
By doing what?
Going down to London before the funeral.
Making some kind of statement
that acknowledges the pain being felt by everyone.
Bereavement helplines are overwhelmed.
Sensible adults are weeping openly in the streets.
Don't you dare.
Sanity will soon prevail.
Hold firm.
[man on TV] Diana's body will begin its final journey on Saturday.
There continues to be criticism
that the Queen has misjudged the mood of the country.
Set against a background of raw emotion, there is some feeling
that the royal family should be in London sooner,
the focus of the nation's mourning.
It's hard not to look at this like a psychologist might.
There's the country, like a sick, uncomforted child,
and then there's the Queen, hiding away, cold and aloof.
Unable to mother the nation
in precisely the same way as she was unable to mother us.
[sighs]
That is... just not helpful now.
Whether it's her children or the nation,
a reluctance or inability to mother might have consequences.
[man on TV] This is just dreadful. They should be here.
[man 2] There's "a growing anti-royal mood," says The Independent,
while the Express asks the Queen to "show us you care."
I rest my case.
...which reflects the public's growing frustration
at the silence from Balmoral.
Numbers pouring into the capital to mourn have grown with each hour,
so has the nation's frustration.
Whilst the people laid flowers and signed the books of condolence,
the royal family remains silent, hundreds of miles away at Balmoral.
Christopher Peacock is at St. James's Palace now.
Everyone knows the background to this sad, unhappy story.
- Everybody knows... - Mummy.
I was, uh...
I was wondering if you'd had a chance to reconsider your position.
You've seen the images on the television.
It would be very easy to... dismiss the whole thing as mass hysteria,
but the more I look at it,
and the bigger the crowds get, the more I'm persuaded that there's something
much deeper at work here.
People are in shock.
A beautiful young woman was cut off in her prime.
It's natural for people to come together
and express their grief.
But the Crown
rises above impulse.
At its peril.
Mummy, I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't think it was essential,
and that there was a real chance that things might turn ugly.
What do people want from me?
Attention. And love.
Love?
And... understanding.
And... and support.
And care.
And... empathy.
And theater.
And spectacle.
And exhibitionism.
Yes. All the things that Diana stood for.
All the things that Diana challenged us with.
But all the things that people out there were very grateful for.
They didn't see it as
spectacle or exhibitionism.
Diana gave people what they needed.
Even if it was just confirmation that
great pain and sadness doesn't discriminate.
It comes to those with beauty and privilege too.
And they adored her for it.
[man on TV] I think the Queen has got to come to terms
with the humanity everyone else feels.
I think she's got to take that on board and really show that humanity somehow
through this rather icy façade that the royals have.
I hope you're happy now.
You've finally succeeded in turning me and this house upside down.
- That was never my intention. - [scoffs]
Oh, please.
Look at what you've started.
It's nothing less than revolution.
[Diana] It didn't need to be.
But by making an enemy of me,
not of me personally, but of what I stand for...
[woman on TV] Irreplaceable.
...then it starts to look like one.
[man on TV] Overnight, the number of condolence books was increased
from five to fifteen, an indication, perhaps,
that the royal establishment may have initially underestimated...
They're trying to show you who they are. What they feel.
What they need.
And I know that must be terrifying, but it needn't be.
For as long as anyone can remember,
you've taught us what it means to be British.
Maybe it's time to show you're ready to learn too.
[somber music rises]
Here.
We're going to London tomorrow.
[Philip] What?
You heard me.
- [exhales] - [music fades out]
[gates clanking]
God bless you, Your Majesty.
[cameras clicking]
[scribbling]
[muttering under breath]
[Elizabeth clears throat]
Thank you, ma'am. When you're ready.
I'm ready.
In five, four, three...
Since last Sunday's dreadful news,
we have seen, throughout Britain and around the world,
an overwhelming expression of sadness at Diana's death.
We have all been trying, in our different ways, to cope.
It is not easy to express a sense of loss,
since the initial shock is often succeeded by a mixture of other feelings.
Disbelief,
incomprehension,
anger,
and concern for those who remain.
[breathes deeply]
We have all felt those emotions
in these last few days.
So, what I say to you now,
as your queen and as a grandmother,
I say from my heart.
First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself.
She was an exceptional and gifted human being.
In good times and bad,
she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh,
nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness.
This week at Balmoral, we have all been trying to help William and Harry
come to terms with the devastating loss
that they, and the rest of us, have suffered.
No one who knew Diana will ever forget her.
Millions of others who never met her, but feel they knew her, will remember her.
I, for one, believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life
and the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death.
I share in your determination to cherish her memory.
Our thoughts are also with Diana's family
and the families of those who died with her,
as they seek to heal their sorrow
and then to face the future without a loved one.
[horse hooves clopping]
[footsteps falling steadily]
[onlookers chattering, sobbing]
[woman] God bless you, boys.
Don't react.
Keep your eyes forward or on the ground.
Concentrate on the act of walking.
Step by step.
Why are they crying for someone they never knew?
They're not crying for her.
They're crying for you.
[woman sobbing]
[somber music playing]
[Elizabeth] I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever we are,
join in expressing our grief at Diana's loss
and gratitude for her all too short life.
It is a chance to show the whole world
the British nation united in grief and respect.
May those who died rest in peace,
and may we, each and every one of us,
thank God for someone who made many, many people happy.
[somber music intensifies slowly]