Twenty-Four Years Later

Twenty-four years ago, Diana, Princess of Wales, sat in front of the Taj Mahal alone.  It was a poignant photograph speaking of things to very shortly come.

Late last week, William and Catherine sat on the same bench, together.

This might sound like, “Well, OK, so what?”

The photograph of Diana became quite famous as she posed in front of what is known as ‘a marble monument to love’ without her love, Prince Charles.  This amazing structure had been commissioned in 1632 by the then emperor as a mausoleum to house his wife and speaking of his eternal love for her.

A spokesman for William and Catherine said that the couple was “looking forward to creating some new memories.  He (Prince William) feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mother’s memory is kept alive by so many who travel there.”

Ken Wharfe, who was Diana’s bodyguard at the time and whose book Closely Guarded Secret chronicled his work with Diana, recalls her famous words at the photo call. “When Diana sat on that bench, she was asked, ‘What does it feel like?’ She turned to me and said, ‘What shall I say, Ken?’ So I just said quickly, ‘Just say it is a healing experience.’”

“She confided in William a lot at that age,” says Wharfe. “She will have said, ‘This is an amazing place – one day I hope you do this, William. It is one of the seven wonders of the world and I was fortunate enough to go there.’  She was never negative about her husband in his company, she never criticized her husband in his company. She certainly would have said all the positive things about somewhere they had been.”

Unfortunately, Diana’s sole figure was a vision of what was to come – the sad and very public separation and divorce of the Royal couple.

So grateful to see the young Royals so obviously enjoying life and each other’s company.  As they emerged from Taj Mahal, William and Kate were faced by reporters asking what the visit meant to them. “It’s a beautiful place, stunning designs in there,” said the 33-year-old prince, while Kate said: “It’s been really incredible to learn about the romance of the building, and really beautiful architecture.”

Joy, love, yes abundance!