Leave Boys Alone, Asks Charles Britain Plans Memorial To Diana; What To Do With Flowers
Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth II met Sunday to discuss the monarchy’s future in the wake of Princess Diana’s death. Blair’s office, meanwhile, confirmed that Diana had accepted an ambassadorship before she died.
Also Sunday, Prince Charles pleaded with the press to leave his two sons alone as they come to grips with the death of their mother.
Prince Charles took Prince William, 15, and Prince Harry, 12, to his country residence, Highgrove, and pleaded for the media to give his sons some privacy.
“The Prince of Wales wants some time and space for the boys so they can come to terms with their loss and prepare for the future,” said a spokeswoman. “The last thing they need is to face a blast of flash-guns when they go back to school.”
And despite the official end of mourning for Diana, tens of thousands of people - and dollars - continued to pour into London Sunday in her honor. An estimated 1 million bouquets of flowers in front of London palaces will be donated to hospitals and old-age homes today.
More people came Sunday to Kensington Palace than on any other day since Diana’s death, the British national news agency Press Association said. Another 100,000 mourners signed their names in books of condolence.
No official estimate was available Sunday, but the numbers in the capital were judged even greater than on Saturday, as mourners arrived by train, bus and car from across the country.
Parents who heeded police warnings not to take their children into the crush of people in London for the funeral brought them Sunday to leave messages, flowers and tears at Buckingham Palace and Diana’s home, Kensington Palace.
Donations poured in to a fund for Princess Diana’s favorite charities as Britain planned a permanent memorial. Gifts to the fund ranged from a child’s 20-pence coin, worth about 30 cents, to a $4.8 million corporate gift.
Blair appointed a committee to work with Diana’s family on a permanent memorial.
The government said the flowers, toys and other tributes pinned to railings will be given to hospitals and homes for the aged.
Dead flowers will be turned into compost to grow new plants in Kensington Gardens. The Department of Culture said the cleanup will not start before Tuesday. Reflecting Diana’s commitment to charities, it urged young people to register for a task force and do the work for free.
After the funeral, Elton John recorded the version of “Candle in the Wind” that he performed Saturday. The proceeds will go to Diana’s favorite charities, which included AIDS, cancer and the homeless.
A record 31.5 million Britons, 59 percent of the population, watched Saturday’s funeral, the British Audience Research Bureau said. That eclipsed the 22 million who watched Charles and Diana’s 1981 wedding.