People: Still feeling the royal pain
The sons of the late Princess Diana say that they still think about their mother’s death all the time.
In an interview to be broadcast Monday on NBC, Princes William and Harry tell “Today” show co-host Matt Lauer that their grieving process has been a long one, bereft of “peace and quiet” because of nonstop media attention.
“There’s not a day goes by I don’t think, you know, that I don’t think about it once in the day,” says William, 24.
Adds Harry, 22: “Over the last 10 years I personally feel as though she’s always there.”
This August will mark the 10th anniversary of Diana’s fatal car crash inside a Paris traffic tunnel. A two-year French investigation ruled that the driver was drunk and lost control of the car while trying to evade photographers
“Whatever happened in that tunnel, you know no one will ever know,” says Harry.
“Have you stopped wondering?” Lauer asks.
“I’ll never stop wondering about that,” Harry replies.
NBC plans to air parts of the interview, the princes’ first for American television, on both “Today” and “Dateline NBC.”
Speaking of the princess …
Paris Hilton was at the center of controversy again Tuesday when her parents visited her in jail, breezing by people who had been waiting in line for hours to see their loved ones.
A sheriff’s spokesman said it was routine for high-profile inmates to receive visitors during lunch, when the visiting room is usually closed.
Dad Rick Hilton is said to be planning a party for Paris’ release with a price tag that could top $50,000. But she’ll have to find a new agent; she’s been dropped by the Endeavor agency.
Crash-test dummy
Lindsay Lohan‘s legal problems continue even while she recovers in rehab.
The 20-year-old actress has been sued in small claims court for $3,624.84 for allegedly crashing into a corporate van in October 2005.
Not-so-calculated risks?
Lynne Spears says her daughter Britney, whose pre-rehab meltdown included shearing off her own locks, is “just figuring things out.”
“It’s sad that the whole world had to watch her make mistakes that all of us have made at one time or another,” the elder Spears tells Us Weekly magazine.
“Britney Jean Spears is the sweetest and the most sensitive and loving of all my children,” says the mother of three, adding: “I can see her life picking up, and it’s just going to hold great things for her.”
Good night, and good luck
None other than O.J. Simpson has come forward to criticize the cult of celebrity.
“When Paris Hilton was going to jail last week, more people knew about that than knew that we were sending people into space that day,” Simpson tells Editor & Publisher.
“It has replaced what is real news. There was always a place for it, but it was Rona Barrett. Now it is the equivalent of Edward R. Murrow reporting it today.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Gene Barry is 88. Actor Jack Bannon is 67. Singer Janet Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 61. TV personality Donald Trump is 61. Singer Boy George is 46. Actress Yasmine Bleeth is 39. Actor Daryl Sabara (“Spy Kids”) is 15.