British Prime Minister Tony Blair addressed reporters that morning from his home constituency in County Durham, saying he was “utterly devastated,” like the rest of the country. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Princess Diana’s family, in particular her two sons, the two boys,” he said, clasping and unclasping his hands together in front of him.
“Our hearts go out to them. We are today a nation, in Britain, in a state of shock, in mourning, in grief that is so deeply painful for us.” Blair paused. “She was a wonderful, and a warm, human being. Though her own life was often sadly touched by tragedy, she touched the lives of so many others, in Britain, throughout the world, with joy and with comfort. How many times should we remember her, in how many different ways? With the sick, the dying, with the children, with the needy—when with just a look, or a gesture that spoke so much more than words, she would reveal to all of us the depth of her compassion and her humanity.
“You know how difficult things were for her from time to time, I’m sure we could only guess at, but the people everywhere—not just here in Britain, everywhere—they kept faith with Princess Diana. They liked her, they loved her, they regarded her as one of the people. She was the ‘People’s Princess.’ And that’s how she will stay, how she will remain, in our hearts and in our memories, forever.”
