Earl of Spencer’s Eulogy for Diana:
A Different Approach Six days after the untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales the Earl of Spencer delivered a heartfelt eulogy to pay tribute to his sister. A eulogy can be defined as speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died (Eulogy, n.d.). The Earl used this eulogy not only to praise his deceased sister’s attributes but to call out those whom he felt had victimized his sister through her adult life. The Earl used clever rhetoric during the eulogy to venerate Diana while villainizing both the media and the royal family. The eulogy began using a traditional approach by emphasizing the humanitarian aspects of Diana’s life. This was not …show more content…
The Guardian posted on the eulogy, “Earl Spencer used it to come as near as anyone has done within Britain since 1745 to raising the rebel standard against the monarchy. His address was not a eulogy, but a battle cry” (Engel, 1997). The royal family was already receiving backlash from the people for the lack of grieving over Diana’s death. The Queen had already begun to break protocols to appease the people, for example, lowering the Union Jack to fly at half-staff and there was also the highly unusual live speech to the nation (Glauber, 1997). All of this made the bite of the Earl’s speech a bit sharper. As the crowd applauded the royal family felt the sting of the backlash. “Queen Elizabeth II, who is Spencer 's godmother, did not seem pleased. She did not join in the applause that echoed through Westminster Abbey after his comments. Neither did the other royals” (Glauber, …show more content…
Diana 's brother, Earl Charles Spencer, accused journalists of having her "blood on their hands", according to BBC News (The Princess and the Press, 1997). Of course at during this time, emotions were running incredibly high with regards to the media and their intrusive behavior that lead to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. One of the most prolific statements during the Earls speech was perhaps, “a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age.” The Earl played on the goodness of his sister and the great despair in which the media had caused her. “I don 't think she ever understood why her genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media, why there appeared to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down.”, the Earl professed. Diana seemed to have an ambiguous relationship with the media. There were times in which she turned to them to help spread the word of a charity, and then there were times the media seemed to cause her to break down. The Earl “blamed British editors for Diana 's death on the ground they encouraged photographers to hound her, undoubtedly has personal reasons to be bitter toward the press” (Moseley, 1997) . In the end, the eulogy in which the Earl of Spencer prepared was well received by the people. He was able to use pathos effectively to tug at
A Different Approach Six days after the untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales the Earl of Spencer delivered a heartfelt eulogy to pay tribute to his sister. A eulogy can be defined as speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died (Eulogy, n.d.). The Earl used this eulogy not only to praise his deceased sister’s attributes but to call out those whom he felt had victimized his sister through her adult life. The Earl used clever rhetoric during the eulogy to venerate Diana while villainizing both the media and the royal family. The eulogy began using a traditional approach by emphasizing the humanitarian aspects of Diana’s life. This was not …show more content…
The Guardian posted on the eulogy, “Earl Spencer used it to come as near as anyone has done within Britain since 1745 to raising the rebel standard against the monarchy. His address was not a eulogy, but a battle cry” (Engel, 1997). The royal family was already receiving backlash from the people for the lack of grieving over Diana’s death. The Queen had already begun to break protocols to appease the people, for example, lowering the Union Jack to fly at half-staff and there was also the highly unusual live speech to the nation (Glauber, 1997). All of this made the bite of the Earl’s speech a bit sharper. As the crowd applauded the royal family felt the sting of the backlash. “Queen Elizabeth II, who is Spencer 's godmother, did not seem pleased. She did not join in the applause that echoed through Westminster Abbey after his comments. Neither did the other royals” (Glauber, …show more content…
Diana 's brother, Earl Charles Spencer, accused journalists of having her "blood on their hands", according to BBC News (The Princess and the Press, 1997). Of course at during this time, emotions were running incredibly high with regards to the media and their intrusive behavior that lead to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. One of the most prolific statements during the Earls speech was perhaps, “a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age.” The Earl played on the goodness of his sister and the great despair in which the media had caused her. “I don 't think she ever understood why her genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media, why there appeared to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down.”, the Earl professed. Diana seemed to have an ambiguous relationship with the media. There were times in which she turned to them to help spread the word of a charity, and then there were times the media seemed to cause her to break down. The Earl “blamed British editors for Diana 's death on the ground they encouraged photographers to hound her, undoubtedly has personal reasons to be bitter toward the press” (Moseley, 1997) . In the end, the eulogy in which the Earl of Spencer prepared was well received by the people. He was able to use pathos effectively to tug at