Diana: A Celebration

One of the lovely Spencer family artifacts.

Removing myself from my holiday project mindset, I took a break yesterday and met some coworkers at the National Constitution Center for the current exhibit, Diana: A Celebration. While the weather was extremely gloomy here in Philadelphia, the occasion was one of celebrating the extraordinary life of Diana, Princess of Wales.



Once upon a time, I was quite infatuated with anything royal, but especially the fairytale princess, Diana Spencer. Yes, I was one of the million Americans who set their alarm very early on July 29, 1981 to be a witness to the union of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. In fact, my senior Enlgish research paper chronicled the entire wedding celebration from engagment to their departure on The Britannia for their honeymoon. Yes, I was captivated by it ALL!



The special exhibit running through January 3, 2010, was a tribute to Lady Diana's life and all that she accomplished. Organized by her brother, the Earl Spencer, the exhibit recorded Diana's life, starting with her childhood, viewing family photos, letter and home movies. In the movies, Diana became a familiar image, that little girl playing, being silly, just like our very own childhood memoires.



The exhibit went on to illustrate Diana's school days, here engagement and wedding to Prince Charles, her sense of fashion, her death and finally the causes and special interest groups that she supported. I suppose the two things that stood out the most, included: a) the amount of handwritten notes, letters and albums of memoriam that were crafted for Diana's family and b) reading the unedited version of Earl Spencer's tribute that he gave during Diana's memorial service. If you recall the words that the Earl used to describe the Royal Family, the frosty tone was warmhearted compared to the words crossed out in his own handwriting. Very telling.



If you find yourself in Philadelphia and have a couple of hours to spare, I recommend catching the exhibit at the National Constitution Center before it departs.