“Princess of the People” is what they called her.  She is thought of as one of the most influential people of our time.  Sadly, Princess Diana was taken from this world, before she was able to fulfill all of her service aspirations and before she turned a mere 38 years of age.  Controversy surrounds Diana's death.  Reactions to her death sparked anti-paparazzi legislation in select states and countries.  Some blaming the ruthlessness of the paparazzi for her death and others blame the driver for the fatal crash, believing rumors that he was intoxicated.  She died of cardiac arrest due to wounds suffered in a car crash on August 31,1997.   The Mercedes she was traveling in crashed while speeding, trying to get away from the ever-relentless paparazzi.  Had the paparazzi not been chasing Lady Diana in order to capture a few snapshots, she would still be alive today, serving the world, as she loved to do.

Rumors had been circulating that Dodi Fayed, Diana’s boyfriend at the time of her death, had planned on proposing marriage the night of her death.  Whether that be the truth or simply a rumor, Diana was in the company of Dodi on the night of August 30.  To capture a glimpse of the princess, paparazzi photographers staked outside Paris’s Ritz Hotel.  As Diana dashed out of the hotel into the Mercedes S280, cameras flashed furiously around her.  Boyfriend Dodi and driver Reese-Jones followed closely behind her.  As they sped off, none of the passengers of the car had bothered to fasten their seat belts as the paparazzi were in close pursuit.  Dodi was known to egg on his drivers to outrun the chasing media.  As they began to approach the Alma tunnel, the speedometer read over 90mph.  The car’s tires hit a dip in the road which sent it flying into an oncoming car.  The Mercedes did a 180 before it finally smashed into the tunnel wall.  The car was traveling at 110 mph at the time of the crash. The princess was rushed to the hospital where doctors desperately tried to save her life.  Princess Diana died at 4:00am on the morning of August 31.[1]

            The official police report charged Reese-Jones, the driver of the car, with the accident.  Apparently he had a blood alcohol of .175 percent or 1.87 grams per liter, which is 1.37 grams over the law in France.[2]  Yes, he was intoxicated, but if the paparazzi had not been relentlessly chasing the car it would not have been speeding over 100mph.  Take the paparazzi out of the picture, and Diana would still be alive today.

             At Diana’s funeral, her brother, Earl Spencer, spoke of a shy, but graceful woman whose life was on display for all to see:  “She talked endlessly of getting away from England, mainly because of the treatment she received at the hands of the newspapers.”  Privacy and peace from the overbearing press was what the princess desired.  This evil that surrounded her throughout her charmed life would be the cause of her death.

            Some argue that those in the spotlight make the choice to give up privacy in the stead of fame.   “’If she wanted privacy’, a photographer argued in a television interview, ‘she could have stayed a kindergarten teacher.’”[3]  I do not believe that she had a clear picture of what she was getting into when she married into the royal family.  The Protection from Personal Act and Privacy Protection Act of 1998 admits that there was no precedent in the royal family in the past of the blatant disregard for private life of the magnitude Diana had received.[4]   Yes, the royal family has had their pictures taken while out and about, but wherever Diana went, it was rare to see her without her paparazzi stalkers.  The choice or circumstance that brings one into fame does open up their lives to the media, but it does not entitle the media to abuse this privilege.

            This infringement of her privacy has led to the passing of privacy laws in France, Britan and California to name a few.  As a result of pressure by celebrities and the Screen Actors California has enacted an "anti-paparazzi" law, which creates tort liability for "physical" and "constructive" invasions of privacy through photographing, videotaping, or recording a person engaging in a "personal or familial activity."[5]  A bill was passed in Brittan as a measure against the media calling upon the European Convention on Human Rights.  Article 8 of that bill states, “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.''[6]  These laws are proof that the great minds of government concur that the paparazzi has gone too far in its quest for the perfect shot.  The media needs to be controlled and laws are being established to do just that.

            Although the paparazzi is ultimately responsible for the death of the princess, it is also responsible for putting her life in print and into our living rooms.  We saw her live her life like everyone else does.  It made her feel like a family member, like a “people’s princess.”   Pictures of her raising William and Harry showed the gently motherly side of Lady Di.   We also saw the elegant princess attending affairs of state and grand balls.  I found myself eager to look at pictures of the princess just to learn more about the life of the lady the world loved.

            Mere hours after the fatal crash, news of the accident was spreading like wildfire all over the world.  News reporters flocked to the scene and the newsroom.  It seemed as if her life was being even more displayed now that she had died.  Broadcasts of the story of Diana’s life could be seen on almost every major network.  The irony of it all was as the news would agree that the paparazzi was at fault in the death of Diana, they would be exploiting her private life on national television.  They were putting themselves at the same level of the paparazzi.  It is a vicious circle that seems to have no end, but this must stop.  Who is going to be the next victim of the drastic tactics of the paparazzi?