Why are so many people, including the Brazen Hussies, heartbroken over the death of Princess Diana? There are the obvious reasons, of course.... a beautiful young woman who died tragically, needlessly, in the prime of her life... a mother leaving behind young children.

But, there are other reasons she touched us and became the Queen of our hearts.

Despite her lofty social realm, we felt we knew her. And we loved her. She was both extraordinarily real and as other worldly as the heroine of a fairy tale.

Far too many women we know can relate to her story, her hopes and dreams.... She married, probably too young, to her Prince. It sounded like a fairy tale, but in this version the Prince turned into a frog, not the other way around.

Prince Charles had the exceedingly tacky bad taste to announce to the world on television that he had never loved Diana. Camilla? Camilla??? Camilla! That was his choice over Diana, the mother of his children, the woman who had worked to give the royal family some kind of relevance and meaning in both Britain and the world.
Which brings us to the age-old question: what the hell is wrong with men? Not all men, of course. But there does seem to be a shortage of brain cells working in many of them. Helloooooo Charles, is anyone home upstairs? Are you a few peas short of a casserole or what? Let's see Camilla or Diana, Camilla or Diana, your children's happiness and the dignity of the historic House of Windsor or your mistress? His aberrant choice, obviously, speaks for itself in terms of both his brain power and moral fiber.)

Sher's path crossed with that of Prince Charles many years ago, in his pre-Diana days. He was far more handsome in person than he appeared in photographs, tall with beautiful skin and ruddy cheeks, friendly, but in only the most perfunctory way. No time for the mere minions at a social affair at the Fox Theatre concocted in his honor..... just get him to a back room away from the dirty masses as quickly as possible please. But Diana, when she smiled and spoke out on issues that touched her, reached to kiss a child, or accept the multitude of flowers that were always waiting from the adoring fans everywhere she went, was genuinely warm, and loving. And magical. We will never forget the magic.

And she was brave.

She could have stayed in the world of fashion shows and parties but she went to Bosnia to make a documentary about the deadly mines ripping apart the country's soul and, especially, its children. She hugged men dying of AIDS in the early days of the epidemic, when far too many others were living in fear and even talking about internment of those HIV positive. She supported the work of Mother Teresa, whose death we also acknowledge with a heavy heart.

What did Mother Teresa and Princess Diana have in common and why would brazen hussies care? They were resilient and strong and loving, no matter what. They were icons of indomitability, living proof that women, faced with adversity of mind boggling proportions, can overcome. Women are full of power. We are tired of that fact being such a secret that it's practically unknown and rarely acknowledged out loud.

At the end of her brief life, Diana seemed on the verge of fully understanding the power she possessed. And she seemed happy. We're glad about that.

She is now the Lady of the Lake. The stuff of legends. We have always loved Arthurian tales... in a thousand years, we think the story of Princess Diana, the beautiful, selfless, and proud, will outlive the memories of her troubled, tragic and tearful moments.

She suffered. She was rejected. Her heart was clearly broken. But, as the song goes, she picked herself up, dusted herself off and had started all over again... and did it brilliantly. With love. And great style.

 

 

We'll miss you, girlfriend.

Lady Diana, Our English Rose