It is nearly 30 years since Princess Diana's last royal appearance in Southport and the visit was marked by controversial allegations about her private life.
On Thursday, June 12, 1992, the Princess of Wales arrived in Kew to open the Queens Court Hospice. Her visit was cut short however as Diana broke down in tears while greeting the eagerly awaiting crowd.
The opening of the hospice was her first official Royal engagement after rumours had started circulating that she had split from her husband Prince Charles. Which had been reported the week before across the country.
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The headline in the Southport Visitor the next day read "Princess Di's visit ends in tears". The article said: "The Princess of Wales broke down in front of hundreds of well-wishers during an emotional visit to Southport yesterday.
“The favourite Royal left the town in tears moments after opening Queenscourt Hospice’s £1.4million showpiece centre in Kew. Looking radiant in a full-length hyacinth blue dress, which matched the colour of the official hospice balloons for the day, the Princess appeared relaxed as she stepped out of her chic racing green Jaguar at around 11.30am.
“After meeting local dignitaries and Queenscourt staff, she chatted easily to residential and day patients inside, before unveiling a plaque to commemorate the official opening of the building. The Princess then delighted the sun-baked crowd – six deep in places – by taking her customary walkabout."
The Princess of Wales then approached the crowd and greeted her excited fans. One woman Mrs Mary Jackson had travelled all the way from California to see her the princess and said Diana was "absolutely lovely".
However, the mounting pressure in her personal life proved to be too much for the Princess and as she approached the final section of the crowd she broke down in tears. The Southport visitor said: "As she prepared to approach the final section of the crowd, the Princess- on her first official engagement since controversial allegations about her private life- lost her composure her eyes filled with tears and she cut short the walkabout, jumping into her waiting car".
This would be the last time Princess Diana would ever visit Southport. She first came to the seaside town in 1990 strolling around a local Tesco to talk to shoppers and offering them advice about healthy eating.
Royal watcher Colin Edwards who was seeing the Princess for the 31st at Queenscourt Hospice said: "I normally get to kiss her hand but today she looked overwhelmed. I think it was all too much for her."
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