Perspectives - Vol. 2, No. 4 - The Death Of Diana And The World's ResponseDavid J. Lincoln, BSc., Ph.D. Updated: Sep 1st 1997 As you all know, Diana The Princess of Wales was tragically killed as a result of a car crash in Paris in the early hours of Sunday the 31st August 1997. The people of Britain woke up to this news on that Sunday morning. The initial response was one of shocked silence. Everybody was shocked in to disbelief. As the morning continued and the horrible events unfolded, the beginning of what was to become a tidal wave of grief started. This wave culminated in her funeral on Saturday the 6th September 1997, and is still continuing with no immediate signs of ending. Britain and probably the world have never seen such a display of public emotion before, and may never see such a display again. I have been asked many times to explain, from a psychologist's point of view, the reasons for such a showing of mass emotions and the great outpouring of grief. I am writing this to try and explain this phenomenon. I wish to state from the outset that what I have to say in no way detracts from the tragedy of her sudden death. This is merely an academic explanation from my point of view of the reasons that culminated in what the world has witnessed. To fully understand this phenomenon we must first put our minds in to the right frame and detach ourselves from the emotions surrounding the incident. I would wish to compare this event with other major disasters that have occurred in the past such as the Wall Street Crash, the various property crashes in the UK, and the rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930's. All of these events were a culmination of many different circumstances. These circumstances have never exactly repeated themselves since. Likewise to explain the national grief following the tragic death of Diana we need to explore all the surrounding factors and circumstances. These factors fall into three main areas. Firstly, as commonly talked about, the media had hyped Diana up to such an extent that she was always in the public eye. Everything she did was reported. The poor girl was afforded little or no real privacy. Diana, or more precisely everything Diana did, was front-page news here in the UK and across the world. As like the rest of her life, Diana was again at this time in the news. Diana was merely trying to have a normal life. This is an important point to bear in mind when considering the second point.  Secondly, each of us has a part of our personality that makes us a super-person. This manifests itself in the ego-defense mechanisms talked about by Sigmund Freud. The denial mechanism, for example, is the conscious mind refusing to acknowledge the existence of a potential threat. This attitude makes us think those tragic things always happen to others, never to ourselves. We are indestructible; we never focus on our own possible demise. With this in mind, it should not be surprising that when a public figure, one that is so young and seemingly so well protected, is the subject of a relatively common accident our own vulnerability is exposed. If it could happen to Diana it could so easily happen to us. This exposure brings forth very strong feelings of grief. Thirdly, Britain, and for that matter the rest of the world, lacks a real point of focus if you like, a reason for living. The tragedy of Diana's death is a good rallying point. A way of uniting the people, united in their grief. This unity is continuing to show via the masses of money pouring in to the memorial fund set up in Diana's name. Putting all these factors together at this time and in this place has culminated in the public display of grief we are all witnessing. There are many other factors that have also come together at this time. It is generally believed that there is a new awareness or group consciousness similar to Jung's collective unconsciousness (whereby people have the ability to tap into the knowledge of the universe but without conscious awareness) now manifesting itself. This awareness is on an emotional level - the power of love. This awareness has been seen to express itself by the collective power of the people in the ability to bring about change. The power of collective and focussed love even managed to change established traditions as witnessed by the royal families' changes in the manner of Diana's funeral. The television and press coverage were continually talking about unprecedented actions of the establishment from the flying of a flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace to the Queen's live television appearance. All of which shows what power a collective thought process can achieve. I have outlined here some thoughts on the reactions that we all have witnessed. I am sure that there are a lot of hidden factors that have also played their part at this time. In closing, as an Englishman I must state that like so many of my fellow countrymen I feel that we have lost a great ambassador of the new way of thinking that is sweeping through the world a new re-awakening of love. The legacy of Diana will live on in our hearts for eternity. Reference
Lincoln, David J. (1997). Diana The Princess of Wales and the world's response. [Online]. Perspectives. [1997, September 26]. | 
