‘Dodi dead, Di badly injured,’ read the front page of the first edition newspapers that morning.

The news that Princess Diana had died in a car crash in Paris broke in the early hours of the morning on August 31, 1997.

As the public awoke to news of the tragedy via the radio, newspapers hurried to release a second edition, and Prime Minister Tony Blair led tributes to ‘the People’s Princess.’ Meanwhile, somber observers gathered before dawn outside Kensington Palace.

Despite Buckingham Palace issuing a brief statement within hours of the news breaking, there was intense scrutiny regarding the Queen’s response. 

Royal author Valentine Low noted in his book Courtiers: ‘The absence of a flag flying at half-mast over Buckingham Palace was observed, and this was interpreted as the Royal Family’s indifference.’

But this was not the case.

Low further explained: ‘The Queen adhered to the tradition that only the Royal Standard was flown over the palace, and it was never flown at half-mast, as there is always a sovereign.’

The Mail’s Richard Kay said: ‘There were battles going on, there was no doubt about it. 

Katie and her grandmother Enid Jones were among thousands of mourners who gathered to see the Queen return the day before Diana’s funeral

On September 5, 1997, Prince Philip and the Queen interacted with members of the public outside Buckingham Palace and observed some of the estimated 60 million floral tributes.

Public support for the monarchy was dwindling as some observers felt the Queen had delayed responding to Diana’s death

‘Messages were being relayed to try encourage the Queen to engage more.

‘They wanted the Queen to come down to London as soon as possible. But the Queen and her immediate family were still resistant to that.

‘Tony Blair spoke to Prince Charles and implored Charles to talk to his mother to try and, sort of, break the logjam.’

According to royal biographer Tina Brown, the Queen was only concerned with William and Harry and not ‘courting the media and public opinion’. 

Low added: ‘By Thursday, public sentiment had intensified—not just regarding the flag but also due to the Queen remaining in Balmoral instead of coming to London as a public expression of national mourning—which made compromise inevitable.

‘The Queen realised that it was her duty to fulfil her role as the nation’s leader in a time of crisis.’

The Union Flag would fly over the Palace at half-mast – but not until Saturday morning, after the Queen had left the Palace to attend the funeral. 

The Queen would come down to London earlier than expected and deliver a broadcast to the nation on Friday evening.

The Union Flag would fly over the Palace at half-mast – but not until Saturday morning, after the Queen had left the Palace to attend the funeral

These flowers, along with ten to 15 tons of bouquets, were left at Kensington Palace, St. James’s Palace, and Buckingham Palace, according to Guinness World Records

Royal author Valentine Low wrote in his book Courtiers: ‘It had been noticed that there was no flag flying at half-mast over Buckingham Palace, an omission that was taken to mean that the Royal Family did not care’ 

In keeping with the royal tradition of walkabouts, Prince Philip and the Queen chatted with members of the public outside Buckingham Palace and viewed some of the estimated 60million floral tributes.

These flowers, along with ten to 15 tons of bouquets, were left at Kensington Palace, St. James’s Palace, and Buckingham Palace, according to Guinness World Records.

Low wrote: ‘Palace officials were fraught with anxiety over how people would respond to her presence.’

Public support for the monarchy was dwindling as some observers felt the Queen had delayed responding to Diana’s death.

But a turning point came through the actions of one schoolgirl.  

Eleven-year-old Kathryn (Katie) Jones, was holding five red roses when the Queen approached her.

Katie and her grandmother Enid Jones were among thousands of mourners who gathered to see the Queen return the day before Diana’s funeral. 

‘Would you like me to place them for you?’ the Queen asked her.

‘No, Your Majesty,’ she replied. ‘These are for you.’

The Queen’s private secretary, Mary Francis, told author Robert Hardman: ‘There had been a very nasty atmosphere around London, but, as their cars approached the Palace, you could hear the crowd start to clap’

The poignant moment was captured in a photograph and is now seen as a symbolic turning point in the Queen’s fortunes. It was even dramatised in the 2006 movie, The Queen, starring Helen Mirren.

The Queen was ‘visibly moved’, wrote Low, who is pictured behind a railing as the young girl and her grandmother hold out flowers. 

The Queen’s private secretary, Mary Francis, told author Robert Hardman: ‘There had been a very nasty atmosphere around London, but, as their cars approached the Palace, you could hear the crowd start to clap.

‘It shows that, sometimes, you can turn sentiment by a positive response, however late.’

In May 2017, Katie and Enid featured in the Channel 5 documentary Diana: 7 Days That Shook The Windsors.

Katie told the documentary that before the Queen took the flowers, she held her hand and was shaking.

She told the Queen: ‘I think you deserve them, I think you’ve done the right thing staying with your grandsons.

‘If my mum had just died, I’d want my grandma with me.’

A park bench provides an accurate gauge of the volume of floral tributes in front of Kensington Palace

Enid said: ‘The attitude of the crowd was unpleasant and it was something which I have never, ever seen before in any Royal occasion, ever.’

‘You know, usually when the Queen goes by, people clap, people cheer, people wave. They don’t just stand there.

‘I actually think perhaps what Kate said struck home and people realised that perhaps they’d been totally unfair to someone who after all has given her life to our country.’

In an unprecedented break with protocol, the Queen asked her press secretary to appear on TV to defend the royals and explain that they had stayed away to be with William and Harry.

She also agreed to make a statement on television, her first live broadcast in 50 years.

Low wrote: ‘When Downing Street had suggested that the Queen’s broadcast should go out live on the six o’clock news, the idea was rebuffed by the palace on the grounds that “the Queen doesn’t do live”.’

However, when the suggestion was put to her directly, she agreed without hesitation, according to a former courtier.

‘It was very hard for the Queen to do, to what she had to do, yielding, if you like, to public pressure,’ Richard Kay recalled.

The Queen agreed to make a statement on television, her first live broadcast in 50 years

‘She knew better than anyone if she lost, or the Royal Family lost the affection of the public then their days really were numbered.’

Low wrote: ‘After the broadcast, in which the Queen said there were lessons to be learned from Diana’s death, the national mood changed.

‘People saw the Queen in a more sympathetic light, and the immediate crisis dissipated. 

‘But for an institution that had been badly damaged by the whole Diana saga, there was still a long way to go before it could completely recover.’