Even princesses make mistakes

Well, the whole world is shocked and grieving the untimely demise of the self-proclaimed "queen of people's hearts".

Diana, Princess of Wales, was a unique personality, immensely popular the world over both for the good causes she supported and her controversial and less appreciated private life.

She won people's hearts through her passion for the less fortunate. Her death has also left a big vacuum in the fashion world, which derived considerable popularity from her.

She possessed a peculiar and sometimes controversial multi- personality. Though it would not be apt, at this time, to analyze her wrongs, it must be mentioned that she is partly to blame for her own death.

Diana played herself into the hands of the media, using them to her advantage but finding she could not shun them when she wanted to.

She also made a mess of her personal life and did an injustice to herself. She would have been no one had it not been for her marriage to Prince Charles and her association with the royal family.

Yet she did not mind openly betraying and criticizing the prince and the royal family in public. She cared more for her own independence than the image of the royal family. She seemed to want only the good things from royal life and made fame and fortune for herself through the most talked about marriage and divorce of the century.

The various facets of her personality aside, she was undoubtedly one of the most popular women of this century and will remain so in the years to come.

The media who grew rich at the cost of her privacy, the fashion world, the people of Britain to whom she was very dear, and the rest of the world will all miss this charming princess.

May the soul of this caring, humanitarian, glamorous and controversial princess rest in peace.

S. NATARAJAN

Tangerang, West Java