IFSulDeMinas 2018/1

How has Princess Diana's death changed the Royal Family?

The death of Princess Diana in 1997, and the public's response to it, shook the House of Windsor.

Twenty years on, there's been a coup at the palace. It was bloodless. All the royals remain standing. But the power has shifted.

The departure, earlier this month, of the Queen's dedicated senior official Sir Christopher Geidt has meant her eldest son can exert more control over the monarchy's direction of travel.

The comings and goings of courtiers excite those on the inside and leave outsiders cold.

However, recent changes should cheer Prince Charles. The heir who's waited and waited is more content and less anguished.

He's still driven by a desire to deliver change but the royal prophet in the wilderness on climate change has been embraced by the mainstream.

A prince once derided for talking to plants is praised for trying to save the planet.

With each year that passes, his mother will do less and he will do more.

There are fewer clouds on his horizon. It's a horizon that was once obscured by the War of the Waleses: his televised admission of adultery, and his leaked comments about tampons.

Lasting influence

And yet, and yet. Whatever accommodation he reached with his first wife in life hasn't survived her death. Diana haunts Charles.

A recent YouGov poll commissioned by the Press Association suggested that the number of people who believe the Prince of Wales has made a positive contribution to the Royal Family has fallen over the past four years, down from 60% to 36%.

This polling took place at a time when it was hard to escape references to Charles's painful past.

Newspapers and television channels have reflected at length on the influence of Diana, Princess of Wales, an influence that stretched from fashion to the British monarchy.

It's been a month of coverage that must have perplexed anyone under the age of 25 and would have confused a visiting Martian.

Charles's many supporters will argue that Diana's adverse impact on his popularity will recede with each passing year. But 20 years on, her influence still registers.(...)

Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41094816/. Acesso em: Agosto de 2017)