‘The saddest of all fairy tales’: Ita Buttrose reflects Princess Diana’s legacy

The world stood still on this day 25 years ago as news of Princess Diana’s death spread to disbelieving admirers.
Diana was just 36 when she and her partner Dodi Fayed died as a result of a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France.
Ita Buttrose can speak to Diana’s legacy better than most, having followed the princess for decades as a royal reporter.
In 1981, she spent a month reporting the extraordinary wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
“Of course, wrongly, we all thought this was a fairy tale romance, we thought, ‘Ah, this is the true Cinderella and here’s the prince’,” Buttrose told Sofie Formica.
“But as we know, it turned out to be the saddest of all fairy tales.”
Buttrose said the two sides of Diana have caused the world’s enduring fascination with her life.
“I think she had a wonderful empathy, that she was able to connect with people and she was a very generous person with her time.
“[But] I think she was a very sad woman, when you think back about her life.
“She was a beautiful creature, she was a beautiful creature. And you think, to die at 36, it’s a very young age to leave the world.”
Press PLAY below to hear Ita Buttrose discuss Diana’s legacy
Image: Georges De Keerle/Getty Images