If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that there’s definitely been a shortage of documentaries about Princess Diana recently.
I’m sorry, what? Can you repeat that? I can’t hear you for all the laughing.
Last year, it was her 60th birthday, this month it’s 25 years since her death in Paris – and now I’m trying to work out if I’ll get some respite until her 70th birthday, or whether the 30th anniversary of her death will be deemed worthy of yet another barrage of documentaries.
Investigating Diana: Death In Paris was a veritable bingo card of elements we’ve seen a million times before.”
The latest, Investigating Diana: Death In Paris (Channel 4), was a veritable bingo card of elements we’ve seen a million times before.
Grainy CCTV footage of her waiting in the lobby of the Ritz – check! Montage of her sunning herself on a yacht – check! Clips of her being chased by photographers – check! News reports about flowers being laid outside Kensington Palace – check! Celebs arriving at the funeral – check!
The interviews with the French investigators were new but contained precious little fresh insights.
Despite purporting to be a thorough analysis of her death, it was really just a way to re-broadcast what we’ve already been told, but now with the added value of giving oxygen to the myriad of loony conspiracy theories.
Four hour-long episodes was far too much time to devote to the subject.”
As huge as the case was, four hour-long episodes was far too much time to devote to the subject, particularly since footage from the time is so ubiquitous in our consciousness.
Given that each Diana documentary will inevitably discuss how overexposed she was in the media and how terribly unfair that was on her and her family, does no one pause to think that maybe history is repeating itself and that all these programmes are doing precisely the same thing?
But I suppose that the lessons of the past can be forgotten in the blink of an eye so long as there’s an anniversary to cash in on.
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