Diana 戴安娜

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Many may remember this as a major shocking news when it happened.   For teenagers, you may only know her as the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry, or remember having seen her in one of her many photographs.
今個月是英國戴安娜王妃逝世的20週年。大家有否記得，當年她逝世的消息也算是震驚全世界的大新聞嗎?較年青的朋友，可能只知道他是現今英國威廉王子及哈利王子的媽媽。又或者你只是偶爾在照片中見過這位女士。

With Princes William and Harry. Credit http://www.elledecor.com

In 1981, Diana was only 20.  She was young, pretty and shy.  There was a hint of mystery about her as she had rarely been on the radar as Prince Charles’s girlfriend let alone the future Queen. Diana was born into an aristocratic family, and was a Lady in her own right. So for the then still rather conservative British Royal family,  she was a perfect wife for the next heir to the throne. She was seen as a breath of fresh air to the institution.
1981的戴安娜只有20歲，她有少女的清純漂亮，同時也有一點害羞。公眾對她認識不多，因為當時在查理斯王子身邊出現過的幾位女朋友中，都沒提到戴安娜，更莫說她將會成為未來英國的皇后。戴安娜出生於貴族家庭，未結婚之前本身是女爵，背景高尚良好。對於當時還算較保守及傳統的英國皇室來說，她絕對是很適合嫁給查理斯王子的人選。而她的出現也正好為這個沉悶的皇室家庭帶來一點新氣。

Over the next 16 years, Diana blossomed from the young shy girl to become one the most photographed woman in the world. She was very popular with the public, and was a natural ambassador to help modernise the archaic, old-fashioned Royal family. She did a lot of humanitarian work, and through her influence helped many of the disadvantaged. When AIDs first appeared in the 80’s, many thought they would catch the illness by just coming into  casual contact with a carrier.  During her visit to an AIDs centre, Diana not only chatted with a patient, but also shook hands with him, changing many’s attitude towards AIDs.
在她16年的婚姻裡，戴安娜從一個害羞的少女，蛻變成一位集萬千寵愛在身的時代女性。她很受公眾愛戴，絕對可以是這個傳統守舊皇室家族走向現代化過程中的親善大使。在這十多年裡，戴安娜參與很多社會慈善，透過她的知名度及影響力幫助弱勢邊緣人士。例如在80年代愛滋病剛出現時，大家對這疾病的認知還很有限，以為只要觸碰到病人便會感染愛滋病。於是戴安娜在探訪中，跟愛滋病人握着手聊天，改變了大家錯誤的看法。

One of her last mission before her death was to campaign for the removal of active land mines from war. This was a controversial mission, potentially upsetting many war torn governments who preferred not to spend valuable resources to remove the land mines. Diana’s only concern was the potential death and injury these active land mines could cause to people particularly children, who may step on them.
她生前最後一項使命是爭取清除戰爭遺留下來的地雷。當時這運動引起頗大爭議性，有些人甚至覺得戴安娜觸及了政治問題。要徹底清除地雷需要很多人力物力，而剛從戰爭走出來的國家都不願花那麼多資源，一般都抱著一動不如一静的態度。但戴安娜顧及的，不是政治因素，只憂慮着萬一平民尤其小朋友，誤踩地雷而傷亡的後果。

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Diana was a fashion icon, capturing the world’s heart with her every move and every outfit worn.  She was loved by many, not only in UK but also many around the world. Tragically,  her life was bought to an abrupt end in 1997 when she was killed in a car crash in Paris.
戴安娜的時裝觸覺很敏銳，在出席不同的公開場合時所穿的衣服，都不難成為國際頭條新聞。她不單止在英國很受國民愛戴，就連世界各地也有極多喜歡她的人。可惜她的生命卻突然在1997年巴黎的一次交通車禍中提早終結。

Floral tributes at Kensington Palace. Credit http://www.harpersbazaar.com

20 years on, Diana, Princesss of Wales is still be remembered by many as the People’s Princess.  I want to share with you Goodbye England Rose, and tribute from Elton John during her funeral, the only time that he has ever sung and will ever sing this version live.
雖然20年過後，我相信在不少人心目中，戴安娜永遠都是人民的王妃。在這裡，我想跟大家分享她的好友艾爾頓.約翰，在她的葬禮上為她特別改編歌詞及獻唱的Candle in the Wind。這個版本是他唯一一次現場唱的，以後沒有，也不會再唱。