princess diana

A VISIT FROM PRINCESS DIANA

On this day in 1985, Princess Diana visited Ravenswood Village in Berkshire. She opened a rose garden made possible by donations. The Princess arrived by helicopter and later talked to the children and teachers. Ravenswood Village is for the mentally handicapped.

The Princess of Wales receiving a sculptured rose from Ravenswood resident Sarah Turner and former chairman Ronnie Gottlieb.

“One of the great things about Diana’s work, quite apart from the immediate benefit to the charities she supported, was that she really put the spotlight on charities,” said Hazel Kaye, Chief Executive of Jewish Blind & Disabled, which immediately after Diana’s death named a fragrance garden in memory. She added: “The impact she made was enormous, and her loss is still felt today by the charity sector.”
When the Princess of Wales visited Ravenswood in 1985 to open the new rose garden, she arrived by helicopter. She also signed a book recording the planting of the garden’s first rose in honour of the birth of Prince Harry.
“It was an incredibly exciting day,” Mrs Brier remembers. “Princess Diana looked so glamorous and she walked around talking to everybody. “We were so impressed with her love of the residents, with her immediate understanding of their problems and her willingness to stay longer than her allotted time with some of the children.”
Ravenswood’s then honorary chaplain, Reverend Reuben Turner, watched his daughter, Sarah, a Ravenswood resident seen in the second photo from the top of this page, present the Princess with a sculptured rose. “I remember she stayed for two-and-a-half hours. The pilot kept phoning to say it was time to go but the princess insisted on visiting each home.
“My daughter was very excited to be presenting the gift. She curtseyed and they exchanged a few words. Sarah was very taken with her and they seemed to get on very well together. For me it was a very emotional and proud moment – one I’ll never forget.”
The day after the visit, Ravenswood received a letter from Buckingham Palace saying how touched the princess had been by the wonderful atmosphere created by the dedicated staff.

The Princess of Wales, wearing a pink and white Catherine Walker floral suit and matching Philip Somerville hat, inspects the guard of honour during a visit to Northampton to receive the Freedom of the City, June 8, 1989.

A small plaque in remembrance of Diana Princess of Wales is on The Guildhall Northampton

A small plaque in remembrance of Diana Princess of Wales is on The Guildhall In Northampton

After months of planning, reces and several dawn rehearsals, with hours of bulling boots, pressing uniforms and the last hour arrival of new buttons behind them, 200 and more officers and men of the Corps were ready for the big day. Thursday June 8 dawned, the day the Corps was to provide a Royal Guard of Honour for the visit to Northampton of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, and later at the Guildhall, to March past Princess Diana, who as Northamptonshire’s most famous daughter, was to receive the Freedom of the Borough.

Thursday June 8 dawned, the day the Corps was to provide a Royal Guard of Honour for the visit to Northampton of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, and later at the Guildhall, to March past Princess Diana, who as Northamptonshire’s most famous daughter, was to receive the Freedom of the Borough.
The Guard of Honour, commanded by Major Hardy, was drawn up outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Their Royal Highnesses were to attend a Service of Thanksgiving as part of Northampton’s 800th Anniversary Charter celebrations, and to open the biennial Flower Festival.
Looking very pretty in pink, the Princess of Wales arrived in a blaze of sunshine at the start of an historic day. Accompanied by Lt Col Baird, her Royal Highness then inspected the Guard of Honour, making it a memorable day for those she stopped and chatted to.
The Royal couple entered the church, where Earl and Countess Spencer and other members of Her Royal Highness’ family were already seated, to a a fanfare. After the service, during which Prince Charles read one of the lessons, Major Elliott, the Corps Secretary, had the honour of showing Their Highnesses the Corps Silver which was display in the Regimental Chapel.