Royals to take stock of life after Diana

LONDON, Jan 25: Britain's royal family, at a crossroads after the death of Princess Diana, is to hold a special summit to study the results ...

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LONDON, Jan 25: Britain’s royal family, at a crossroads after the death of Princess Diana, is to hold a special summit to study the results of an opinion poll showing what Britons think about it. While, newspaper reports today said the queen was opposed to housing the memorial trust for Diana at Kensington Palace, and had also expressed disapproval of the Princess of Wales’ private secretary’s plans to publish a book on Diana’s life.

Buckingham Palace, urged to “modernise or die” after the outpouring of national grief that greeted Diana’s death, specially commissioned a private MORI poll to see how the House of Windsor’s subjects viewed the monarchy.

This followed widespread criticism of the 1,000-year-old monarchy. It was viewed as being too remote when declining at first to emerge from its private grief to share in the mourning on the streets for Diana.

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Now palace aides say Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and their four children are to meet with top advisers for a `Way Ahead’ committee meeting, likely to take place in Buckingham Palace next month.

This will give them their first chance to sit back and review just how much the monarchy needs to change and adapt after the death of the much-loved Diana, killed in a Paris car crash at the end of August.

The results of the special poll will be produced in a confidential report that is not to be made public.

Meanwhile, a Sunday Times report has said Queen Elizabeth wants the memorial trust for Diana, Princess of Wales, moved out of the princess’ former home, London’s Kensington Palace, because royal aides fear it could embarrass the monarchy.

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One of the queen’s courtiers has written to Michael Gibbins, a memorial trustee and the former private secretary to Diana, telling him that Buckingham Palace would like the apartments back, the weekly said.

The letter said the “confusion and controversy” surrounding the trust could embarrass the queen. The fund was caught up in a storm of protest last week when it emerged that lawyers working for it had charged 5,00,000 pounds (8,15,000 dollars) in legal fees in just three months.

It is thought that Buckingham Palace wants to use the suite, together with Diana’s former private quarters, as accommodation for courtiers or military officers, the paper said.