REMEMBERING PRINCESS DIANA AND HER TRAGIC END A YEAR LATER

With touching tributes and somber actions, the world marked the first anniversary of Princess Diana's death Monday.

Flowers were placed at the Paris tunnel where she died in the car crash, as well as in front of her palace in London. Her children and family attended memorial services.

It seems she was not only loved by family and friends but by thousands of people around the world. At the time of her death she was hailed as "the people's princess."

Even in her death, or maybe because of it, Diana gained publicity and fame. I doubt she would have approved.

I watched accounts of her life during biography specials and on news channels this weekend. Many people featured talked about how much Princess Diana wanted her privacy protected and disliked being hounded by the press. I can't say that I blame her.

For most of her married life and as a young mother, her every move was recorded. Certainly she knew this would be the case when she married into the royal family. But explaining what it would be like and actually living with the constant flash of a camera is another thing entirely.

Like many others I watched her funeral, as well as her marriage on television. It's hard to understand the obsession the world had with Diana, but it's easy to become part of it.

I was fascinated with her life -- and the possibility that a seemingly ordinary schoolteacher could become a princess. Her marriage was like a fairy tale come true.

Because so very few of us will ever become members of the royal family, it seems natural to be curious about Diana's life among the castles and royalty. Like many young children, I was raised on stories and fairy tales about Prince Charming and Cinderella. She seemed to be living out the fantasy of nearly ever young girl -- marrying a prince.

But the reality is that life isn't a fairy tale. Even if we dream of Prince Charming and houses with white picket fences, life doesn't seem to comply with our fantasies. Surely her story didn't have the happy ending she'd hoped for. Most people's lives never do.

I don't know that much has changed in the year since Diana's death. There have been some lessons about privacy and the press.

Now, few people in the United States talk about the paparazzi's demands. For months after the fatal crash, it was the only topic on television news magazines and in newspaper columns.

At the time, everyone blamed the press for her death. No one is certain, even now, about how the events transpired. And it is likely to remain a mystery forever.

I don't think the press or paparazzi -- and there is a difference -- is completely at fault for causing the fatal crash. The entire world is somewhat at fault for sharing in the curiosity and obsession with the royal family.

It's more difficult to accept the blame than to assign it elsewhere.

~Laura Johnston is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.