Admirers pay tribute to Diana at Kensington Palace, Pont de l'Alma

By Akmal Syams

LONDON (JP): Quiet and stately Kensington Palace in London could not be more different from Paris' busy Pont de l'Alma bridge, but they are the latest must-sees for those with one thing in common: love for Diana, Princess of Wales.

Although more than two months have passed since her untimely death, tourists traveling to the two European capitals are still thronging her official residence and the Paris tunnel where she died in a car accident.

Wreaths of fragrant fresh flowers hanging on the Kensington Palace gate attest to the international popularity of the princess.

Diana was killed together with her companion Dodi Fayed in a high-speed car chase in the early morning hours of Aug. 31. The black Mercedes Benz in which Diana and the 41-year-old heir to the owner of the Harrods were riding following dinner at the Fayed-owned Ritz Hotel smashed into the 13th pillar in the tunnel near the Pont de l'Alma statue, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.

"People are still coming here even though the princess passed away more than two months ago," a Kensington Palace guard said.

"These people, mostly foreign tourists, come here to pray for the late Princess and lay wreath at this gate."

A group of Japanese tourists snapped pictures in front of the gate. Four Chinese tourists were among the dozens of people turning over the drying wreaths to read messages written by other visitors to the palace.

The wreaths are secured to the iron gate.

"No one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of people who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her," said Zhong Li, one of the Chinese tourists.

Zhong, who said he admired the Princess for her tenderness and dedication to humanitarian causes, said he had originally planned to spend his annual leave in Berlin.

"But later I decided to come to London where people are still in the mood of missing Diana. I had never had a chance to meet with Princess Diana, so I don't want to miss a chance to visit her residence and lay a bouquet of flower here."

Diana was an exceptional human being, he said. "In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh."

The Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris also draws its share of visitors, and the statue is now a new tourist destination.

"Being here, laying flowers, reminds me of her smiles and warmth. We had never met with her but feel close to her," Waseem Zaffar, a Pakistani who was visiting Paris with his wife, said.

Zaffar said he and his wife were admirers of Princess Diana.

"We have a collection of her pictures and memorabilia, and we also collect newspaper clippings on her," he said, adding that it had been his wife's insistence they vacation in Paris and London.

Most people paying their respects put flowers at the foot of the Pont de l'Alma statue, but some also laid wreaths on the right side of the tunnel entrance.

Visitors were also seen walking close to the entrance of the underpass.

Some of them stood by the fence near the tunnel entrance with their heads bowed in silent prayer for the 36-year-old princess.

Kensington Palace and Pont de l'Alma may be very different, but their shared newfound popularity justifies the popular titles that Princess Diana was conferred posthumously: the "People's Princess" and the "Queen of People's Hearts".