"It was indeed dreadfully sad, and she is a huge loss to the country," the queen wrote. "But the public reaction to her death, and the service in the Abbey, seem to have united people round the world in a rather inspiring way.
The Royal Family's response
The Queen's first public address came five days after Diana's death. “I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being,” she said in a speech broadcast to the nation.
Did Queen Elizabeth II cry at Diana's funeral? The Queen did not cry at Princess Diana's funeral, the late British monarch has only cried in public on a number of occasions.
The Queen was first criticised for not immediately travelling to London following the car crash in Paris, which also killed her partner, Dodi Fayed, and the driver, Henri Paul. Secondly, the monarch also refused to fly the flag at half-mast at Buckingham Palace.
The two influential women remained close through the years, with the queen calling Diana 'an exceptional and gifted human being' in a speech at Buckingham Palace after the princess' tragic death.
It is known that before the Queen, who is the symbol of national unity, everyone bowed. "But that day, it is Elizabeth who bowed her head as a sign of respect for the passage of Diana's coffin, the woman who wore more than anyone else had defied the conventions of the palace."
But the queen wasn't wholly unsupportive. Just like Prince Philip, she did offer support to Diana in the wake of the split. “She [found] one perhaps rather unlikely ally at the palace in the queen,” Morton wrote, “whose understanding and helpful attitude did much to encourage Diana to soldier on.”
Camilla may have been at Diana's wedding but she was not welcome at her funeral, which was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world. Still, to many her absence echoed around the ancient hall. The Queen made it clear to Charles that he could not take his paramour to the service.
“Palace staff rushed over to Charles' room and found him collapsed in an armchair, weeping uncontrollably,” the royal author also shared. Andersen went on to state: “I don't think people realize how really stricken he was by her death.
Queen Elizabeth II bowed to Princess Diana's casket in 1997 - The Washington Post.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton revealed in his book, 'The Queen: Her Life' that Princess Diana's interview was “shocking” and “unforgivable” to the royal family. “[The queen] was despairing, her husband apoplectic.
“[Charles, Earl Spencer], Diana's brother … has also said that he felt that he was tricked into doing it and regrets it. “He said it was like walking through a tunnel of grief.”
According to the Telegraph, the Queen bowed out because of her role as head of the Church of England, which discourages divorce. This prominent role meant she would have had to uphold the Church's values. It's believed her duties outweighed familial obligations when making this decision.
“It was horrid,” Camilla admitted in a rare interview, of the media scrutiny that imprisoned her in her home after the shocking death of Diana, Princess of Wales. “I wouldn't want to put my worst enemy through it.”
"He was absolutely distraught. He fell apart," journalist Tina Brown, author of 2007's The Diana Chronicles, said in the 2017 TV documentary Diana: 7 Days That Shook the Windsors.
The Princess of Wales did claim that she did not want to destroy the monarchy as that “is my children's future”, but she claimed reform was needed to change the remote relationship between the Royal Family and the public.
Prince Harry 'cried once' over Diana's death: Duke reveals he broke down in tears at mother's burial | Daily Mail Online.
"My God, what's happened," Diana then asked him, in what proved to be her final words. "I massaged her heart and a few seconds later she started breathing again.
"One of the most shocking things that Diana told me was that the night before the wedding, Charles told her that he didn't love her," Thornton said. "I think Charles didn't want to go into the wedding on a false premise. He wanted to square it with her, and it was devastating for Diana."
Reports in the British press say Camilla had little desire to attend the ceremony from the very start, but was persuaded by her husband that, as his wife and stepmother to his sons, she should be at his side. But a negative public backlash changed her mind, some British newspapers reported.
She probably wore it purely because she liked it. "Given it was both Charles and Camilla's second marriages, there are usually less strict rules about those sorts of things!"
Margaret chose not to bow her head in respect. Instead, she gave a lazy salute to the casket. that has been compared to shooting away a fly.
Throughout her life, Diana was a devoted mother to her sons, William and Harry, and a lifelong advocate for children, AIDS-related causes, and victims of landmines. Hailed as the “people's princess,” she is also credited with helping to modernize the monarchy.
The Queen has had a good relationship with Kate, her granddaughter-in-law, and sees her as "supporting William and getting on with her duties," said Prof Williams. However, she was reportedly concerned in the early days that Kate didn't have an identity of her own before marrying into the Royal Family.
While Princess Diana and Prince Philip were not reported to have gotten along well (during her marriage to Philip, there were reports that he was "unkind" to her, according to CNN), behind closed doors, it appears he was there for Diana during the difficult divorce — to a degree at least.