Britain, World Shocked by Diana's Death

LONDON (Reuter) - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles are deeply
shocked and distressed by the death of Princess Diana, according to a
statement from Buckingham Palace on Sunday. 

The statement, carried by Britain's Press Association news agency,
said Diana's two sons, William, 15, and Harry, 12, had been told of
their mother's death. 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was "utterly devastated" by
the news. 

Blair told reporters before attending a church service at his
constituency in northeast England that Diana had brought joy and
comfort to people throughout the world. 

"They liked her, they loved her, they regarded her as one of the
people. She was the people's princess and that's how she will stay, how
she will remain, in our hearts and in our memories forever," said
Blair, his voice trembling. 

"I feel, like everyone else in this country today, utterly devastated,"
said the prime minister. "We are today a nation in a state of shock, in
mourning, in grief that is so deeply painful for us." 

Blair said he had already spoken to Queen Elizabeth and Prince
Charles. He said his thoughts were particularly with Charles and
Diana's two sons, William, 15, and Harry, 12. 

"She was a wonderful and a warm human being and though her own
life was often sadly touched by tragedy, she touched the lives of so
many others in Britain and throughout the world with joy and with
comfort. 

"How many times shall we remember her in how many different ways
with the sick, the dying, with children, with the needy? 

"When with just a look or a gesture that spoke so much more than
words she would reveal to all of us the depth of her compassion and of
her humanity," Blair added. 

Britain's Duchess of York said she had lost a special friend in Princess
Diana and the world had lost a great humanitarian. 

The Duchess, popularly known as Fergie, was traveling in Europe
when she learned Diana had died in a Paris car crash, said a New
York-based spokesman for Fergie, Howard Rubinstein. 

"The Duchess has lost someone she has always considered a sister and
a best friend. There are no words strong enough to describe the pain
in her heart," Rubinstein said in a statement issued on her behalf. 

Lord Robert Runcie, the former head of the Church of England who
married Diana and Charles in 1981 and also baptised their children,
spoke of her kind heart. 

"She was a woman of great compassion," he told BBC radio. "She was
always thoughtful, always watchful." 

Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi's Fayed's father and the owner of the
London luxury department store Harrods, said the deaths were
"appalling and quite needless." 

"The world has lost a princess who is simply irreplaceable," he said. 

-- French President Jacques Chirac remembered Diana as a woman
who was "warm, full of life and generosity" and said her death in a car
accident would be deeply felt around the world. 

"She was a young woman of our times, warm, full of life and
generosity. Her tragic death will be deeply felt because she was a
familiar figure to everyone." 

-- U.S. President Bill Clinton said he and his wife, Hillary, were
"profoundly saddened" by the death of Diana. 

"Hillary and I knew Princess Diana and we were very fond of her. We
are profoundly saddened by this tragic event. Our thoughts and
prayers tonight are with her family, friends, and especially her
children," Clinton said in a statement issued from Martha's Vineyard
where he and his family are vacationing. 

-- Mother Teresa expressed sorrow and said she and her missionary's
nuns were praying for Diana. 

"Mother has heard the news and she is very sorry. She is praying for
her and we all are praying for her," Missionaries of Charity, the
Roman Catholic nun's religious order in the eastern Indian city of
Calcutta, said in a statement to Reuters. 

-- The United Nations said the world had lost an important
ambassador. Paris. 

"It is a tragic loss. Her commitment and dedication to a ban on
anti-personnel mines brought the issue home to millions around the
world," said Fred Eckhard, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan. 

-- German President Roman Herzog sent his condolences in a
telegram to Queen Elizabeth. 

"Majesty, it is with dismay that I heard this night about the death of
Princess Diana in a tragic traffic accident," he wrote in the telegram.
"With her personal charisma, her courage and above all her
impressive engagement in an array of humanitarian causes she won
over the people in our country." 

"Particular sympathy is fitting at this moment for Princes William
and Harry," he wrote. 

-- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed shock,
saying Diana had been a woman of grace, beauty and charm. 

"She represented Britain with nobility and warmth, and she captured
the imagination of millions throughout the world with her dedication
to her children and to innumerable worthy causes," Netanyahu wrote.
"Her untimely death is a shock to all who admired her and who will
cherish her memory," he wrote. 

-- Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the thoughts of many
Australians would be with the two young sons she left behind. 

"On behalf of the Australian government and the Australian people I
want to extend my very deep sympathy, particularly to her two young
sons who have suffered the trauma of a marriage break-up and have
now lost their mother at the very young age of 36," Howard said. 

-- Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto expressed his
saddness. 

"I would like to express my condolences," Hashimoto told reporters. 

-- New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger expressed "a deep sense
of shock. 

Bolger said it was with "a great sense of sadness" that New Zealand
extended its condolences to the family of Princess Diana, including
her sons William and Harry, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh and
Diana's former husband Charles, the Prince of Wales. "We also
extend our condolences to the families of the two other people who
were killed." 

-- King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia said simply that "it was very
sad." 

"I present my respectful condolences on behalf of the royal family of
Cambodia," the king told reporters. 

-- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his grief and
saddness. 

"The biggest loss is to her children with whom I have full sympathy.
May God give patience to her children and other relatives." 

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto also voiced sorrow. "Benazir
Bhutto is very grieved at this sad incident, more so because she
personally knew the princess," a spokesman for the opposition leader
said. 

-- Philippine President Fidel Ramos called the deaths "very sad
incident" and expressed his condolences to their families. 

"We offer the sympathy and condolences of our country and people to
the families of both for this very sad incident," Ramos said. 

31 August 1997