No One in the Royal Family Has Acknowledged Princess Diana's 25th Death Anniversary

In surprising yet totally typical fashion, the Royal family has chosen to remain utterly silent on the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic death — not a single member of the House of Windsor has paid tribute to her publicly at this time. Her brother, Charles Spencer, shared a memorial to her on Twitter: a serene photo of a brilliant, cloud-free day at Althrop, Diana’s childhood home, with the flag lowered to half-mast in honor of her memory.

While The Daily Beast had reported several days ago that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles would not formally commemorate Diana’s death — overlooked by senior royals in the afterlife just as she was during her time with them — people are a bit more surprised at Prince William and Prince Harry’s lack of tribute. While it does seem a bit cold, feeling pressure from the world at large to publicly commemorate the 25th anniversary of your mother’s untimely death is not an enviable position to be in, to say the absolute least.

To be fair to both princes, William had said he would not speak publicly about his mother again after the 20th anniversary of her death. In an interview for a documentary, he said “We won’t be doing this again — we won’t speak as openly or publicly about her again, because we feel hopefully this film will provide the other side from close family friends you might not have heard before, from those who knew her best and from those who want to protect her memory, and want to remind people of the person that she was.”

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Harry has addressed the situation with more feeling and warmth than his older brother, sharing last week at a charity fundraiser, “I want it to be a day filled with memories of her incredible work and love for the way she did it. I want it to be a day to share the spirit of my mum with my family, with my children, who I wish could have met her. Every day, I hope to do her proud.”

Perhaps it’s fitting for the Royal family to meet the day with total silence — it’s no secret that they never saw eye-to-eye with Diana, and their relationship only grew more strained after she and Charles’ divorce. After suffering in isolation for so many years at their hands, Diana would likely prefer them to continue ignoring her in death just as they did while she was alive. It’s strange to see the Royal family double down on their treatment of Diana, even posthumously, given their waning popularity with the public, but why pretend to be something you’re not when the world has seen you for who you truly are?

Beloved by the public in life and death, people around the world are celebrating Diana today online and at several sites associated with the late princess, including the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris where her car crashed, and outside of Kensington Palace.

Before you go, click here to see the best photos of Princess Diana playing with William and Harry.

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