Diana's Life and charity endavours - what could have been

[oak_and_cedar]

I mentioned this in another thread about how princess Diana was actively involved with and seeking new charities. I found the article where it came from. It's from 2017 when PW and PH did those documentaries. I think they also invited charities close to her heart.

So, I think it should be posted here. 

This is the extract from article:
"They also met with the founders, former and current patients of the Osteopathic Centre for Children. Tragically, the Princess was learning more about this charity and was due to meet them in early September 1997 - just a month after hear death - to help launch their Sweet Pea appeal."

Prince William and Harry pay tribute to Princess Diana | Daily Mail Online

Her seeking new charities or getting in touch with different charities shows that she was serious about her 'post HRH' role. IMO this shows that she was finding her feet and charting a new course for herself.

It indicates that she wouldn't have been in a 'middle ground' for too long and it showed her 'carrying on' somewhat quickly, which is rather remarkable.

This also puts her summer months into perspective IMO. It indicates that she wasn't dwelling on her past but rather looking ahead. And was indeed rather carefree and having fun, instead of being the lonely, desperate person she was being portrayed as. Though of course no one is free from feeling sad from time to time.

I thought it was an interesting tidbit about her future plans about her work, which has been overshadowed by the gossip about her private life. IMO.

[Curryong]

Good info about the Sweet Pea project. That's great! Yes, I think that Diana, had she lived, would definitely have sought out new charities, ways to help others. I don't believe she would have sank back into the shadows and become some sort of social butterfly.

She was a bit lost and finding her way following her divorce, but that encompassed only the last year of her life really, and I think it's a mistake to treat what Diana did or didn't do with her charity work in 1996/97 as a solid template for her life going forward. She was still a young woman with new worlds to conquer when her life ended so prematurely.

[TLLK]

Thank you @oak_and_cedar for sharing this information about the late Diana, Princess of Wales and what could have been future charitable endeavors for her.

Video from August 30, 2017 with the D/DssoCambridge and Prince Harry meeting with the Sweet Pea appeal.

Twitter

TRH's meet with the founders, former & current patients of the Osteopathic Centre for Children.

[dianab]

i read diana wanted got involved with causes where she knew will made a difference and help the most she could and then move on to another cause. and she wanted made docs and highlight the cause - what she was doing with the landmines cause.

i dont believe she wanted to follow that usual royal duty/job - spend 30 minutes at a place, cut a strip and read a speech...

yes, i believe those people who said she was leaving those other charities... to me, it's clear she wanted another life and probably out of Britain. She'll continue her charity work but in another way imo

[QueenAlex]

i read diana wanted got involved with causes where she knew will made a difference and help the most she could and then move on to another cause. and she wanted made docs and highlight the cause - what she was doing with the landmines cause.

i dont believe she wanted to follow that usual royal duty/job - spend 30 minutes at a place, cut a strip and read a speech...

yes, i believe those people who said she was leaving those other charities... to me, it's clear she wanted another life and probably out of Britain. She'll continue her charity work but in another way imo

She had 6 charities, and was supposed to be taking a deeper interest in them.. but did not really do so.  If she had been serious about that idea, she could have concentrated on the charities she had and learned more about them, so she would not just be a ribbon cutter.  She did appearances for an American AIDS charity... and said she was giving up the Red Cross/Landmines charity.  Unfortunatley she was fitful and its hard to say what she would have done.

[dianab]

that royal job/duty of  being charity patron is in itself to be a ribbon cutter.

when diana took the former elizabeth taylor's daughter-in-law to aids charity after her divorce, the president or director of that charity or whatever disliked that. and he cut diana off of charity.

i understand she wanting stick to charity docs instead of just being a face and a ribbon cutter at a charity.

From which i read  she was due to give a speech about landmines at a country

[QueenAlex]

that royal job/duty of  being charity patron is in itself to be a ribbon cutter.

when diana took the former elizabeth taylor's daughter-in-law to aids charity after her divorce, the president or director of that charity or whatever disliked that. and he cut diana off of charity.

i understand she wanting stick to charity docs instead of just being a face and a ribbon cutter at a charity.

As I recall it was Aileen Getty?  THe charity had asked Diana not to bring this woman and Diana did, so they weren't too happy but they did not "cut her off".  One charity, I think it was the AIDS one, said thehy began to leave her out of events because she would not commit to them...If she wanted to prove herself as a serious charity worker/fund raisier, this flitting around did not look good.  How long would it be before she moved on to something else?  Would she stick at a documentary long enough to get it finished.

[dianab]

Yes, it was Aileen Getty episode.

i remember some people talking diana was serious about docs. she was about having some meetings in sept 1997. and she was still involved with landmines cause and was about having a trip related to that.

[QueenAlex]

and she also said to Richard Kay that she was going to give up her formal charity role..which she had only taken up a year or so earlier.. wehre she cut down to a few charities.  She was apparenlty going to set up a foundation with MAF and Dodi... She said a lot of things. 

[Curryong]

People now try and diminish and sneer about Diana's efforts in raising money for her charities and bringing publicity to causes like Landmines, homelessness, AIDS and leprousy. That wasn't what the heads of dozens of charities she was involved with in her lifetime said when they paid tribute to her after her sudden death.

The People?s Princess: Diana?s charitable legacy

She was divorced barely one year before dying and in that year she did many things for worthwhile causes. Her work publicising the Landmines issue was praised by the Foreign Secretary in the House of Commons after her death.

Most ex spouses of royals drop many charities after a divorce, which is what Diana did. However, that doesn't mean that she became detached or cold hearted about people who were suffering. I'm convinced that she would have been back by the millennium with a couple of dozen good causes under her belt and working hard for them.

[QueenAlex]

yes she did things and it wasn't that she didn't care, but she didn't stick to things.  She said a lot of stuff towards the end of her life that was confusing about what her plans were... that she was going to start a foundation with the FAyeds.. that she was giving up the Red Cross...  So who can say how long the "new causes" would have lasted?  Im sorry she didn't have more time but she was volatile in the last year or 2, and I did wish that she had had a chance to show she COULD stick to something and become a serious charity worker in her own right...

[Curryong]

But Diana did stick to things. Things such as Centrepoint, the charity for the homeless she took on in 1992 and stayed with as patron to the end. She didn't just flit around, taking this up and dropping that. Centrepoint, AIDS charities, the Marsden Hospital, she was actively supporting 62 charities at the time of her death according to the article below which gives details. Many of them had been taken up by Diana years before.

Princess Diana's Charities Prior to 1996

[QueenAlex]

But Diana did stick to things. Things such as Centrepoint, the charity for the homeless she took on in 1992 and stayed with as patron to the end. She didn't just flit around, taking this up and dropping that. Centrepoint, AIDS charities, the Marsden Hospital, she was actively supporting 62 charities at the time of her death according to the article below which gives details. Many of them had been taken up by Diana years before.

Princess Diana's Charities Prior to 1996

but what does actively suporitng mean?  Donations?  Occasional visits?  public engagements?  Its not at all clear IMO.   centrepoint was one of the charities she kept and I am sure she did her best but a lot of her statements were confusing about what she was going to do, charity wise.  She told R Kay that she was giving up "royal" charity, such as her patronage of the Red Cross, and going to do some work with the Fayedds? Which given that her relationship with Dodi was new and problaby not going to last, probably was not going to happen....

[sandy]

yes she did things and it wasn't that she didn't care, but she didn't stick to things.  She said a lot of stuff towards the end of her life that was confusing about what her plans were... that she was going to start a foundation with the FAyeds.. that she was giving up the Red Cross...  So who can say how long the "new causes" would have lasted?  Im sorry she didn't have more time but she was volatile in the last year or 2, and I did wish that she had had a chance to show she COULD stick to something and become a serious charity worker in her own right...

This was her last year. One year after the divorce. I never heard her say directly she was going to start a foundation with the Fayeds. The relationship with Dodi possibly fizzling out would have put a damper on that.

She did not live to a ripe old age. She died at age 36. For that reason she should be cut some major slack.


Double post auto-merged: March 18, 2020, 12:40:18 PM

People now try and diminish and sneer about Diana's efforts in raising money for her charities and bringing publicity to causes like Landmines, homelessness, AIDS and leprousy. That wasn't what the heads of dozens of charities she was involved with in her lifetime said when they paid tribute to her after her sudden death.

The People?s Princess: Diana?s charitable legacy

She was divorced barely one year before dying and in that year she did many things for worthwhile causes. Her work publicising the Landmines issue was praised by the Foreign Secretary in the House of Commons after her death.

Most ex spouses of royals drop many charities after a divorce, which is what Diana did. However, that doesn't mean that she became detached or cold hearted about people who were suffering. I'm convinced that she would have been back by the millennium with a couple of dozen good causes under her belt and working hard for them.

I agree. Divorce is a major life change. SHe was of course regrouping. ANd she only had One Year to live after the divorce.

[TLLK]

Considering that there was only a relatively short time between Diana's divorce and her untimely death, it's difficult to know what her future plans were for her charitable work IMO.

[dianab]

and she also said to Richard Kay that she was going to give up her formal charity role..which she had only taken up a year or so earlier.. wehre she cut down to a few charities.  She was apparenlty going to set up a foundation with MAF and Dodi... She said a lot of things. 

Many people close to her (ie. Susan Kassem) said she intended leave those remaining charities.

Ex-wife of Prince joachim of denmark also left most of her charities and stayed just with one or a few, no idea if nowdays she has any charity involvement.

btw the fact was diana had a trip scheduled about landmines cause. people inovolved in this cause always said how grateful they are to diana wanting get involved in it.

I think it was obvious after the separation and it continued after the divorce, she didnt wish to be a ribbon cutter.

if she was leaving britain, to be patron of those charities wouldnt work out imo
Double post auto-merged: March 18, 2020, 02:59:18 PM

I agree. Divorce is a major life change. SHe was of course regrouping. ANd she only had One Year to live after the divorce.

imo it only officialized a 4 years long situation that diana and charles were going through... be a ribbon cutter wasnt her ambition as far charity work was concerned. that lifestyle of 300 or 400 engaments in a 1 year, wasnt something she wanted anymore...

[QueenAlex]

Considering that there was only a relatively short time between Diana's divorce and her untimely death, it's difficult to know what her future plans were for her charitable work IMO.

True but once she was out of the RF, her charity work did become fitful.  I had hoped that by deciding to stick ot a small number of charities, she could show that she had the ability ot learn in depth about them and be a real help but she didn't seem to ebe very focussed.

[sandy]

She was officially out when she got a divorce. That was about one year before her death. It was only one year so I don't see how any prognostications can be made. She had a very full year including the highly successful charity auction of her iconic outfits. Huge success. The Anti Landmine Campaign did bring her praise. She was newly divorced and regrouping like billions of other divorcees do. She had to get used to sharing custody, life without the HRH and so on. Diana was one of the most focused people I have seen. She could not have clung to the royal patronages, the Queen may have had plans to transfer them to royal family members.

[Curryong]

True but once she was out of the RF, her charity work did become fitful.  I had hoped that by deciding to stick ot a small number of charities, she could show that she had the ability ot learn in depth about them and be a real help but she didn't seem to ebe very focussed.

Unfocused! A real help?

You have read, I suppose, about the enormously successful Angola trip on behalf of the Landmines campaign in the last year of Diana's life. She also made a speech about the cause in London, was pencilled in to attend an international symposium in Oslo in the September and was going to visit Cambodia and Vietnam in the autumn, an Autumn she didn't live to see. She certainly knew about the Landmines cause in depth, was focused on it and spoke about it to politicians.

Even in 1995 she went to Hong Kong and raised millions for Hong Kong charities and for the Leprosy cause she had been involved with for years. That isn't being 'a help'? Raising funds is one of the main focuses in being a Royal Patron and Diana did that brilliantly.

This insinuation that Diana just flitted around and knew little about her charities in spite of working for many of them for years, was little help to them except as a figurehead, and wasn't focused on any cause that mattered is completely without merit in my view.

She brought enormous publicity to a myriad of good causes throughout her life, yes, even after leaving the royal family, and huge donations to whatever she was promoting. 99% of other royals, from the BRF and other Western Royal Houses, would have loved to have had half the impact Diana had around the world with regard to causes and charities.

[QueenAlex]

She was officially out when she got a divorce. That was about one year before her death. It was only one year so I don't see how any prognostications can be made. She had a very full year including the highly successful charity auction of her iconic outfits. Huge success. The Anti Landmine Campaign did bring her praise. She was newly divorced and regrouping like billions of other divorcees do. She had to get used to sharing custody, life without the HRH and so on. Diana was one of the most focused people I have seen. She could not have clung to the royal patronages, the Queen may have had plans to transfer them to royal family members.

There was noting to stop her keeping the patronages.  SHE chose to give them up.  She had some work during the year but it wasn't focussed.  She didn't do as much for the AIDS trust as they had hoped.. she was talking about givng up the Red Cross just as she had had a success with the Landmines.... She worked for the American AIDS charity but ddn't do much for her British one.. so its hard to be sure what she was thinking.. or if her future charity work would be fitful....

[sandy]

She was not a royal anymore. There is no proof that the Queen did not request that she transfer the charities Diana had to other family members. She was focused She was in a transitional stage and just did not sit back doing nothing. She died in 1997 so I don't see how any judgments about her or her character can take place. She was still young and thought she'd have years ahead, She could not possibly do it all in one year. I think she should be cut some major slack. I think she did more in that one year that most of us may never do. Ever.

[TLLK]

There was noting to stop her keeping the patronages.  SHE chose to give them up.  She had some work during the year but it wasn't focussed.  She didn't do as much for the AIDS trust as they had hoped.. she was talking about givng up the Red Cross just as she had had a success with the Landmines.... She worked for the American AIDS charity but ddn't do much for her British one.. so its hard to be sure what she was thinking.. or if her future charity work would be fitful....

While I believe Diana's sudden decision to resign from the majority of her then patronages/charities was a poor decision, I do believe that she would have been a high profile and enthusiastic representative for her remaining six and any others that she chose  to take  on in the future. However I do believe that it was not as easy a transition from an official working member of the Firm to a newly divorced woman without the support/guidance of experienced courtiers to smooth the way. IMO that likely was why there were some hiccups.

[QueenAlex]

While I believe Diana's sudden decision to resign from the majority of her then patronages/charities was a poor decision, I do believe that she would have been a high profile and enthusiastic representative for her remaining six and any others that she chose  to take  on in the future. However I do believe that it was not as easy a transition from an official working member of the Firm to a newly divorced woman without the support/guidance of experienced courtiers to smooth the way. IMO that likely was why there were some hiccups.

I believe that her

Trouble is that she might not have stuck at whatever she took up.  when she was In the RF she had support, she had courtiers and advisers and was able to do her job.  But when she had only a few charities, she also had lost many advisers and did not listen to the ones she had left.She was at the mercy of her own whims and friends who suggested things and then she would dabble and move on... She didn't seem to me to be focussed ,and her charities felt that there was no use rellying on her...
Double post auto-merged: March 18, 2020, 09:41:13 PM

She was not a royal anymore. There is no proof that the Queen did not request that she transfer the charities Diana had to other family members. She was focused She was in a transitional stage and just did not sit back doing nothing. She died in 1997 so I don't see how any judgments about her or her character can take place. She was still young and thought she'd have years ahead, She could not possibly do it all in one year. I think she should be cut some major slack. I think she did more in that one year that most of us may never do. Ever.

The queen did not care what she did.  She didn't expect her, no doubt, to suddnely give up all her patronages.  Diana chose to give them up herself.  She was advised by her PR consultant to be more cautious about giving them all up, but she didn't listen. 

[oak_and_cedar]

Good info about the Sweet Pea project. That's great! Yes, I think that Diana, had she lived, would definitely have sought out new charities, ways to help others. I don't believe she would have sank back into the shadows and become some sort of social butterfly.

She was a bit lost and finding her way following her divorce, but that encompassed only the last year of her life really, and I think it's a mistake to treat what Diana did or didn't do with her charity work in 1996/97 as a solid template for her life going forward. She was still a young woman with new worlds to conquer when her life ended so prematurely.

IMO she was reassesing things, finding new ground and how to best forge ahead. In those months, during the summer and leading up to it, I think she was 'cleaning house' and I think she looked carefree and happy those weeks in july - august.



Double post auto-merged: March 19, 2020, 08:57:31 AM

yes she did things and it wasn't that she didn't care, but she didn't stick to things.  She said a lot of stuff towards the end of her life that was confusing about what her plans were... that she was going to start a foundation with the FAyeds.. that she was giving up the Red Cross...  So who can say how long the "new causes" would have lasted?  Im sorry she didn't have more time but she was volatile in the last year or 2, and I did wish that she had had a chance to show she COULD stick to something and become a serious charity worker in her own right...

But according to this article, with regards to the sweetpea foundation, there was no mentions of the Fayed's being brought in. I think that Diana would have gone ahead regardless, and according to this article she was making plans for herself. In all likelyhood, this talk about a charity with the Fayeds has been blown out of proportion IMO.

[QueenAlex]

but that was what she said in her last talk with Rich Kay.. that she wanted to set up this foundation and work as a private person.. and step back from a "semi royal" charity role...  (although she had already cut down on her charity work.... ). I had beleived her idea was to get more involved wit the 6 charities she had taken up, learn more about them, work with them in depth.  But in fact she seems to have done less for them than if she'd been Royal with 100 patronages to keep up with.   I felt we saw little of her at charity work in the last year.. and her charities felt the same.
And then you hear that she had talked of dropping the Red Cross which had been worknig with her on the Landmines issue..where she had been a big help and it had been a triumph for her in the sense that it got her a lot of positive attention.. and that sounds like odd and fitful behaviour.   I think she was very much at the mercy of whatever caught her attention at the time and it was hard to predict what she would do.  Its hard to imagine that the Fayed Foundation was going to happen but she did talk of it.. and seemed to see herself dropping charity work altogether or cutting back even more...