Princess Diana’s Middle Eastern heritage, from fashion to inspiring the next generation

From her engagement to Prince Charles as a shy teenager to her roles as a loving mother, humanitarian and global celebrity, Princess Diana made an impact around the world with her different brand of royal service.

Crowds of thousands would gather to see her, both at home and abroad, and she often eclipsed the presence of her husband, from whom she later separated after an 11-year marriage in 1992.

She undertook two tours of the Persian Gulf in her time as British queen and visited other Middle Eastern countries. With each trip, her fashion choices, warm demeanor with the public and promotion of important causes drew comments.

As the world mourns the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in a tragic car crash on August 31, 1997, here are some of the ways the ‘people’s princess’ impacted the Middle East.

Queen of the desert

Princess Diana and Prince Charles embarked on a nine-day tour of the Gulf in November 1986, taking in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

British newspaper Evening post certainly considered the trip a success, reporting that the princess “appeared … like the queen of the desert.”

But the desert may not have suited the royal couple so well. The royal aides told him Daily registration at the time: “It’s a lot hotter than we were led to believe.”

The royal tour took in a rapidly changing Oman after Sultan Qaboos had deposed his father, with a trip to the new Sultan Qaboos University, meeting Omani women.

Freeing the Middle East from mines

Perhaps the most famous photo of Princess Diana was taken in Angola. Just months before her tragic death in 1997, she walked, wearing a jacket and face shield, through an active minefield.

The photos shared around the world with other images of her meeting child victims of landmines raised awareness, funds and support for demining operations and work to ensure that fewer munitions are used in the future.

“Where her impact has been felt most on a global scale is of course through the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, which was signed the same year as her death,” said Louise Vaughan, global media manager at the demining charity. Hello Trust. national team.

“There had been a global grassroots movement against landmines for a whole decade and many MPs had worked tirelessly to secure the treaty. But there is no doubt that the now iconic photographs of Diana in Halo body armor in that Angolan minefield forced all governments, including the UK’s, to prioritize the treaty and push it across the border. “

Although Diana did not work directly on demining in the Middle East, the attention her famous mine walk attracted helped raise the profile of the Halo Trust, of which her son Prince Harry is now a patron.

“I am not a political figure,” the princess said in June 1997. “As I said at the time, and I would like to reiterate now, my interests are humanitarian. That is why I felt drawn to this human tragedy.

“How can the countries that manufacture and trade these weapons reconcile their conscience with such human destruction?”

Halo has worked throughout the Middle East, including Yemen, Libya, Syria, the West Bank and Iraq.

“The whole humanitarian mine action movement has benefited from around half a billion dollars a year for over a decade now and that money would not have been made available without the publicity and pressure generated by her visit,” Ms Vaughan said. .

tourISm

Diana visited a number of tourist sites in the region, leaving her mark – even changing the name of one place she visited.

On her trip to Oman in 1986, Diana visited Jebel Akhdar, or the Green Mountain, stopping at a lookout point for spectacular views of the Saiq Plateau and the other Hajhar mountains.

The place has since been called Diana’s Point.

In May 1992, Diana visited Giza and the Pyramids in Egypt, as well as the Karnak Temple in Luxor. She sparked outrage among the press for wearing a beige outfit that blended with the sand and rock of the area, making her difficult to photograph, snapper Norbert Schiller said.

Thirty years later and a company called Egypt Magic Tours is offering tourists a chance to walk in Diana’s footsteps with a nine-day tour of all the places she visited.

Fashion pioneer

As part of her 1989 tour of the region, the princess wore an innovative outfit that would become a fashion staple for many women thereafter. In Kuwait, she wore the ‘dress’ designed by her friend Catherine Walker. Diana’s daughter-in-law, Princess Kate, has also become a fan of the look.

Even the items she wasn’t wearing in the end caused a stir. In 2018, documents revealed that she had packed a full white burqa for her 1986 visit to Saudi Arabia, but it was not worn.

It was carefully designed for Diana to dress modestly while traveling. Her lady-in-waiting, Anne Beckwith-Smith, wrote to Diana’s wedding dress designer on June 2, 1986, asking for some sketches of fashion options to be worn on the trip.

“Their Royal Highnesses will visit Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. On all occasions modesty is the order of the day,” Ms Beckwith-Smith’s note to Elizabeth Emanuel said.

Youth empowerment

Princess Diana was praised for her work to draw attention to global issues and for her patronage of various charities. Her legacy in this field lives on with the Diana Award. Established in 1999 in memory of the Princess of Wales, it shines a light on those who have gone above and beyond to help their communities.

Each year the award produces an honor roll of around 300 young people and young people from the Middle East are featured prominently.

In 2021, 22 people from the United Arab Emirates received the award, told by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, that they represented “a new generation of humanity”.

Updated: August 26, 2022, 02:00