Diana, Princess of Wales, was buried at Althorp following a state funeral at Westminster Abbey watched by an estimated global television audience of 2.5 billion. Her brother's eulogy pointedly criticized the press and the royal family, while crowds lining the funeral route in London numbered in the millions, reflecting an unprecedented outpouring of public grief.
Diana had died on August 31 in a car crash in a Paris underpass while being pursued by paparazzi, and the week that followed exposed a raw, unfamiliar vein of public emotion in Britain — carpets of flowers outside Kensington Palace, an uncharacteristically muted royal family criticized for its silence, and a monarchy visibly scrambling to read the public mood.
Elton John performed a rewritten version of 'Candle in the Wind' inside the Abbey, later released as a single that became one of the best-selling records in history. Earl Spencer's eulogy, delivered directly to the congregation including the royal family, thanked the crowds outside for making 'the greatest possible statement' and vowed that Diana's blood relatives would ensure her sons were not simply subsumed into royal duty.
The funeral is often cited as a turning point in the British monarchy's relationship with public sentiment, pushing the institution toward a more visibly emotional and media-conscious style embodied later by her sons William and Harry.