I never really understood the tsunami of grief that followed the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
I was shocked, of course, and desperately sad – for her friends, her family and especially those two poor boys.
But I found the public displays of mourning baffling, mawkish and unsettling.
The Queen of Hearts?
The People’s Princess?
The souvenir sellers were even flogging T-shirts saying “Born a Princess, died a Saint”…which clearly wasn’t factually correct and really irritated my pedantic sensibilities.
These people didn’t know Diana as a person. Very few had even seen her in the flesh, so why were they acting as if they had lost a very close relative?
Surely this was some kind of mass hysteria, a desire to be part of a big national event, rather than a genuine emotional connection?
I was wrong. I came to understand that a bit more in the months and years afterwards.
But I never truly got it until now, a quarter of a century on.
Because the wave of emotion I experienced over the death of the Queen on Thursday felt like grief for a cherished elderly relative.
And the lump in my throat when I heard her son make his extraordinary first speech as King proved I DO have a personal connection with this new and relatable sovereign.
I realise now that much of that is due to his late ex-wife – to the famous “Diana effect” that I, and the Windsors themselves, once found so incomprehensible.
Her natural warmth, her demonstrable empathy, her ability to relate to people from all walks of life changed our own relationship with royalty.
Her Majesty the Queen’s stiff upper lip never wobbled publicly during her glorious 70-year reign.
But after Diana’s death she began to show us more of her personal feelings and admitted she had learned lessons from her daughter-in-law’s life.
Diana’s two sons have carried her brand of royalty forward and shown the same ability to hug, hold and comfort ordinary people.
And William’s wife Catherine, the new Princess of Wales, has proved that she is more than capable of bearing the loaded legacy of the title. Even Camilla, the once-loathed mistress, has won the respect and support of the nation with her own down-to-earth brand of royalty.
Millions of people were taken by surprise by the strength of their own grief at the Queen’s death.
Many were reminded of their own personal bereavements, the loss of friends and family.
But others felt it left a gaping hole in the heart of the nation and wondered whether King Charles III would ever be able to fill it.
Because Diana always told us that he really wasn’t up to “the top job”, didn’t she?
Well, I suspect she may be looking down today and admitting she was wrong.
Because his first public walkabout and that moving address to the nation on Friday suggest Charles will be a caring, open and tactile King who wears his heart on his sleeve.
We’ve heard plenty about his plans for a slimmed-down monarchy but it looks like we may be in for a loved-up one too.
Meeting his subjects outside Buckingham Palace, Charles gripped their hands, spoke about his grief and asked them for their support.
One woman kissed his hand, while another planted a smacker on his cheek and he clearly relished the intimate interaction with his people.
He used the word “love” repeatedly in his speech, he showed us real emotion.
And, with tears in his eyes, Charles touchingly thanked his dear Mama for everything, and wished that flights of angels might sing her to her rest.
Another tsunami of grief is sweeping across the nation as we come to terms with the loss of our longest reigning monarch.
But just as the royal family has changed in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death, more of us are caught in the swell.
Our new monarch, King Charles III, has already connected with his people.
And he is well on his way to being crowned our King of Hearts.
This weekend, the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror celebrate the life of Her Majesty the Queen with a commemorative special filled with all the key moments from Britain’s longest reigning monarch. Be sure to pick up your copy of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror to get both pullouts.
