Princess Diana In The 20th Century

The British monarchy is considered the oldest institution in Europe and also the most powerful one. Recently, Great Britain has experienced important changes in the British crown throughout the 20th century which consequently have had an impact in the country’s society. The media has played an important role in these changes in which the Princess Diana has been an essential ingredient to the whole new image of the country. The aim of this essay is to analyse the British monarchy as a media phenomenon at the end of the 20th century through the social and cultural circumstances developed with the image of the Princess Diana as shown in the film The Queen. The British monarchy is an important symbol of Great Britain and therefore it is appreciated for the most part of the population. This love for the monarchy has been developed as an interest in the life of the British royalty, therefore the media is there to feed their needs. In the late twentieth century, the two most remarkable figures were the Queen Mother and Princess Diana. The former portrayed the most pure representation of the

Diana’s well-studied image was very popular in the public and received the title of “The Princess of the People”. She created a contemporary celebrity persona by appearing in numerous magazines which characterised her with a charismatic personality. But her celebrity status also granted her the possibility of wearing famous designer clothing, interacting with music and film personalities completing her celebrity image. Leaving the glamorous part of her life, she also used her influential power to support several causes such as the fight for a cure of AIDS, domestic violence and the international trade in land mines. She constructed a monarchy established on “active symbolism”, favouring her name the “Queen of people’s hearts”. (Hames, Leonard. 1998,