[music playing]
On the eve of Princess
Diana's funeral,
the royal family is returning
to London, hoping perhaps
to quell some of the
criticism of their actions
since Diana's death.
REPORTER: The queen's
convoy arrived in London.
As it swept up to
Buckingham Palace,
the limousine
halted at the gates,
and the queen and Prince
Philip got out to take
in the massive floral tributes.
INGRID SEWARD: The queen was
actually extremely nervous
because she could
feel the hostility,
and actually she
heard people say,
ooh, about time you've come.
You know, they could hear
an awful lot of things
that the crowds say.
And then I think a
woman actually gave her
a bunch of flowers
and said, "Would you
like me to place it for you?"
And the woman said, "No,
ma'am, it's for you."
And that sort of broke the ice.
It was that moment.
And I think suddenly people
saw her, instead of feeling
all prickly and angry,
they suddenly thought,
my goodness, this
is a grandmother,
and she's got to
deal with all this.
REPORTER: Queen
Elizabeth will speak
publicly today about the death
of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Joining me from London
is NPR's Michael Goldfarb
to talk about the
extraordinary move
by the queen to speak
to her subjects.
Any idea what she
will say today?
MICHAEL GOLDFARB: It
will be a very carefully
crafted speech because
people will listen
to it with great interest.
Since last Sunday's
dreadful news,
we have seen throughout
Britain and around the world
an overwhelming expression
of sadness of Diana's death.
So what I say to you now as
your queen and as a grandmother
I say from my heart.
First, I want to pay
tribute to Diana myself.
She was an exceptional
and gifted human being.
In good times and bad, she
never lost her capacity
to smile and laugh
nor to inspire others
with her warmth and kindness.
I admired and respected her
for her energy and commitment
to others.
I hope that tomorrow we can
all, wherever we are, join
in expressing our grief at
Diana's loss and gratitude
for her all-too-short life.
I thought she said everything
she should have said.
Can't think of anything
that she left out at all.
It is completely appropriate.
REPORTER: And they're
gathering now at the entrance.
This is an extraordinary
view we're seeing here.
We've never, as
far as I'm aware,
seen the royal family standing
like this at the gates
of Buckingham Palace.
INGRID SEWARD: At the funeral,
the queen was very dignified,
and she bowed her head when
Diana's coffin went past.
And it was spectacularly done.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II: I, for one,
believe there are lessons to be
drawn from her life and from
the extraordinary and moving
reaction to her death.
It is a chance to show
to the whole world
the British nation united
in grief and respect.
