Glimpse led to admiration for Diana’s charitable work

It was mid-September 1990; Carol and I had decided to fly to Great Britain to explore the castles and cathedrals.

After a “red-eye” flight out of Miami, and not much sleep, we took the tube to our first stop, Buckingham Palace. Since Carol was a veterinarian, she just had to see the Royal Mews, the stable where the queen’s horses reside. We did that and saw what huge animals the Cleveland Bays and Windsor Greys were.

After peering through the wrought iron fence to see all the “bobbies” at Buckingham Palace, we proceeded toward Whitehall Palace. Off to the right were two vintage British Spitfire airplanes, single-seat fighters that were used during World War II. “Let’s take a look at those old planes!” I urged. It happened to be Royal Air Force Days and the 50th anniversary of Great Britain entering World War II. There was a small group of people peering at one plane in particular, and there she was, Princess Diana, with her two sons, William and Harry. We couldn’t believe it! – we had been in the country for less than half a day. There was a Royal Air Force officer and one policeman with her but that was it, as far as security detail goes.

After seeing Princess Diana up close, I really began to focus more on her life and her charitable causes. She had become a spokesman for the sick and less fortunate. She worked tirelessly on behalf of sexually abused children. She threw herself into raising her two sons. She attended AIDS benefits and removed her gloves to shake hands with AIDS patients – she was a trailblazer in that regard. She received a huge amount of press coverage for many of these causes that she believed in. This coverage was very beneficial to those efforts.

Unfortunately, all of that press attention may have led to her demise, after a chase involving paparazzi ended in a fatal car crash in Paris 20 years ago. We lost a true “champion of the people.” She will never be replaced. I am thankful for my having seen her even for such a short time.