How people around the world reacted to the funeral Saturday of Princess Diana, as reported by Tribune correspondents:
– Moscow was almost too busy to take note of Diana’s funeral.
Most of the Russian capital devoted itself Saturday to celebrating its 850th birthday, with plays, musical performances and a parade that dominated the city’s center and much of the airwaves.
Russian TV stations–some citing costs, others the need to cover the birthday festivities–chose not to carry the funeral live, though one network provided updates. Moscow cable viewers, however, had a choice of as many as six outlets to view the funeral, including the BBC and CNN.
— Colin McMahon
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– Italians sat glued to their TV sets Saturday. Although Italy dumped its monarchy in 1946, Italians have longed shared a fascination with Britain’s royals.
“I’m watching because I was impressed with Diana as a person because of the joy and generosity she brought to others,” said Mauro Mercanti, a furniture designer who lives in Rome.
Mercanti’s mother, who also was watching, found the service to be “very moving even though it wasn’t Catholic.”
The story has dominated the Italian press for days, but on Saturday it was nudged aside in Corriere della Sera, the most serious paper, by news of Mother Teresa’s death.
— Tom Hundley
– Even on a week blighted by suicide bombings and the deaths in Lebanon of 12 of their soldiers, some Israelis already in mourning took time on the Jewish sabbath to watch Princess Diana’s funeral procession live on both main Israeli TV channels.
TV anchors gave a running commentary in Hebrew and took reports from their correspondents covering the sad scenes in London. They even translated the Christian prayers. Israeli radio stations led their hourly news with it, giving special attention to Elton John’s new lyrics and Earl Spencer’s eulogy.
Across the Middle East, Arabs and others in many Muslim nations also watched the funeral live on Egyptian, Jordanian or Turkish television.
There was great interest in Jordan, a land with British traditions still intertwined in the army and familiar with royalty under King Hussein’s rule.
— Storer Rowley
– With its own ties to Diana, Brazil marked her death with live coverage of the funeral on virtually every major network, and named a street in the posh oceanfront district of Sao Conrado after the princess.
Among Diana’s closest friends, Brazilian newspapers noted, was Lucia Flecha de Lima, the wife of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, who had formerly served in London from 1990-93. De Lima, who diplomats said had a “mother-daughter relationship” with Diana, reportedly was devastated by the princess’ death.
— Laurie Goering
– In Mexico City, Diana’s death has dominated the news, and the funeral was broadcast live on television, and later rebroadcast.
Saturday afternoon, people downtown who were asked about Diana and the funeral praised her and her charity work, and they talked about how she died way too early.
Yolanda Guerra, 40, said the funeral “was way too short a service for what she deserved. She did not only win England’s love but the world’s.”
— Paul de la Garza