 individual - beyond the fact that she was famous and photogenic.
To express indifference to the People's Princess was an admission of cynicism or inhumanity. In these circumstances even the most convinced republican could feel some sympathy for the royals, as they were dragged by the tabloids and the tearful crowds to take part in Diana's secular canonisation.
Was this bizarre melodrama an expression of crowd hysteria, the product of a lonely, atomised society steeped in too many soap operas, whose individual members wanted to experience a single moment of shared emotion? Was Diana the 'imaginary friend' whose photogenic smile transported millions back to childhood fantasies? Was it a confirmation of the cult of celebrity and the power of the media?
Psychologists and sociologists may ponder such questions for years. But one thing is clear; the long-term historical impact of Diana's death has been absolutely nothing. So let us not pretend that Diana still matters
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| Our obsession with fame is embodied by the devious ham actor with a trembling lower lip who ruled us for a decade |
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- for the truth is that for the overwhelming majority of us, she doesn't matter at all, and never really did.
But while Diana's death changed nothing, it did coincide with a shift in British society. Ten years ago Tony Blair came to power promising to make Britain a 'beacon to the world'. Since then we have become richer, coarser, more selfish and cynical, prone to expressions of sentimental emotion and equally unpredictable outbreaks of brutality.
It is a society where the national obsession with fame and celebrity is reflected in an endless array of wannabe TV shows and the glorification of the rich and powerful. Many of these tendencies were embodied by the devious ham actor with the trembling lower lip who ruled the country for the last decade. Now Blair has gone and the beacon that he promised, as Elton John might put it, has turned out to be just a candle in the wind. 
FIRST POSTED AUGUST 24, 2007
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The truth about Princess Diana?
Tony Blair's legacy
