Friends shocked to learn Princess Diana is dead (Historic 1997 video)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ย. 2020
- Historic event - The unexpected death of Princess Diana.
Friends playing cards learn that Princess Diana was injured in a car accident, then react when TV news says she has died. I recorded this home video in 1997 and it sat in a box for many years. This is the full, unedited version as I recorded it that night, from the original videotape.
To answer some questions that have popped up - Why was I recording? I was trying out a new camcorder by recording friends playing the card game UNO. We had been having a great time, laughing and joking, for more than an hour when my mom called me to say that Diana was in a car crash and we should turn on the TV. We kept playing UNO and joking around as usual - Ken made fun of how the TV announcer kept repeating himself - and gradually the seriousness of the situation began to sink in. It took a few minutes to transition from our upbeat party mood to serious. When the screen text changed to "Diana dead" the true reality of the situation hit like a ton of bricks and we stopped playing UNO of course, and rushed over to the TV. This was recorded in America, in the state of Iowa. All of the guys in the video are still alive today (as of today, November 20, 2023). The guy who screams when he learns Diana has died is my friend Ken who still lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is his genuine reaction to the news of Diana's death. Some people call it a "Wilhelm scream." (Apparently that's a movie term). The guy who stifles a smile after Ken's scream is Scott. (His brief smile was a reaction to Ken's loud silly scream, NOT to Diana's death). When CNN announced that Diana had died I didn't turn the camera back to the TV because my instinct was that it would be more interesting to capture my friends' reactions. Some people call this video the first of what are now called "reaction" videos, a term that didn't exist in 1997 (and neither did TH-cam, which began in 2005). I don't think this really is the first "reaction" caught on camera. I mean, there is footage of an announcer reacting to the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, for example, and many others on film. - I keep in touch with all the guys today. - บันเทิง
To answer some questions that have popped up - I recorded this home video in 1997 the night Diana died and it sat in a box for many years. Why was I recording? I was trying out a new camcorder by recording friends playing the card game UNO. When my mom called me to say that Diana was in a car crash I turned on the TV, on silent, and we kept playing the game while monitoring the text on the bottom of the TV screen. When the screen text changed to "Diana dead" the true reality of the situation hit like a ton of bricks and we stopped playing UNO of course, and rushed over to the TV. This was recorded in America, in the state of Iowa. All of the guys in the video are still alive today (as of May 21, 2023). The guy who screams when he learns Diana has died is my friend Ken who still lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is his genuine reaction to the news of Diana's death. Some people call it a "Wilhelm scream." (Apparently that's a movie term). The guy who stifles a smile after Ken's scream is Scott. (His brief smile was a reaction to Ken's loud silly scream, NOT to Diana's death). When CNN announced that Diana had died I didn't turn the camera back to the TV because my instinct was that it would be more interesting to capture my friends' reactions. Some people call this video the first of what are now called "reaction" videos, a term that didn't exist in 1997 (and neither did TH-cam, which began in 2005).
It is an incredibly interesting video! Thank you for sharing. As for the reactions, I don't think there is any "right way" to react to death, so there's no problem there. Great piece of history!
Your whole channel is an amazing time capsule, thanks for sharing!
Thank you. Nice share. You were already ahead of your time. :)
I have no idea why, but I keep coming back to rewatch this. There's something so entriguing about it. The cool/interesting group of buddies, the 90s, the reaction to a historical event . Literally one of my favorite YT videos now lol
Thanks for sharing!!!
The COMPLETE shift from the jokes to dead seriousness is astonishing.
I cried then ... and watching this brought it all back again ... she was so wonderful .. and so greatly missed
These men went from card playing .. to the saddest moment knowing Diana had passed .. it was brillant
Jokes are a defense mechanism of mind too.
It reminds me of the video of college students filming the twins towers falling and they're drinking , joking trying to cope with what they're seeing until they see the tower fall and they start to panic. It's one of the best pieces of footage of it happening to
It’s crazy to think about these historic events, and how things can change in the blink of an eye. The group of guys were just having a jolly good time and then all of a sudden, a person that many people around the world idolized, turned out to be dead. Just imagine if that happened to you and you’re group of friends, but for right now just think how lucky you are to be alive right now.
@@soso-mx8nb do you have a link?
The fact that Americans were this shaken, goes to show how beloved she was.
It's brought back the sadness just hearing in the shock
Tons of Americans were affected. My mom sobbed for hours when she found out.
Maybe but they wouldn't have cared if she wasn't beautiful.
@@butterflymoon6368 it wasn't that. It was her warm and kind personality that made people care. She traveled the world like a good will ambassador. So everybody knew who she was and liked her. Aside the political personalities of the time, the news had her most of the time, mother Teresa de Calcuta also and Juan Pablo II. She left a void in what we knew the fabric of the world was at that time. She captured the imagination of the masses in a totally unique way. She was mourned globally.
@@butterflymoon6368 Do you even know what made Diana popular.
Props to the camera man. Showed a little tv footage, but kept to the viewers to see how people followed the breaking events. So real.
Thank you
@@alan-lightyou still reply? Are the people in the video still friends? ❤❤❤
@@DK-fd3filook at pinned comment
@@DK-fd3fiRead the description
@@alan-lightWow, still replying to comments?! A true icon
Whoever filmed this deserves an Oscar
Thank you!
@@alan-light I just stumbled on this video today, just wanted to say thank you for uploading! I was only 2 years old when this happened, so I’ve only heard about the cultural impact of this moment second hand. It’s incredible to be able to see a glimpse of what it was like myself.
@@alan-lightI’m from England and remember this tragedy just like watching you and your friends here. Thank you for uploading it .
Oscar for a home video?
@@silloweet yes
The reaction was so sad because Diana was the closest thing in the royal family to a normal citizen
It can be argued she was more a fairytale than the royal family who exposed themselves as horribly traditional and insensitive. She was real, genuine and sensitive to the people something the royal family still can’t do. Her death was like shattering of the looking glass. You had al your hopes and dreams on one woman and when she died it was like there was no more goodness in the world anymore. The fairytale became a tragedy and innocent dreams were destroyed
You could probably argue this more about the Duke of Gloucester. He was the first HRH to attend university and was working for an architect’s firm when his brother died and he had to step in to prepare to inherit the dukedom.
@@KoiYakultGreenTea That's EXACTLY the best description.
@@piratesswoop725 Diana worked as a nanny. Can't get much more working-class than changing messy nappies. She didn't have to do that for a living, but she did because she loved children. She liked being normal and wanted her boys to understand what that meant.
I’ve also heard people say the reaction was definitely because of how human she was and thusly liked, but also that if someone like her could die, well, it was a reminder we all could go, it reminded everyone of their mortality.
This is what a digital time capsule is! Never delete this sir.
Yes memories shall last forever
True
The internet never forgets so dont worry about that
Even if he deletes this it's gonna be in the archives forever.
yes. This is truly a moment in time.
Them having the realization that she died and moving onto the couch to holding each other is so heart-sinking.
This video is insane to me - I'm 24 years old and have lived in London my entire life. I've never felt the impact of Diana's death so I imagined that this video wouldn't have an impact on me, but the real impact of this video was the heart warming and human approach a group of friends had to a tragedy that they had no personal connection to. People my age now not only have very different kinds of friendships, but it almost feels like the humanity in people has been lost. Everything is covered with drama and a TV, laptop or phone is so accessible that people my age don't seem to have this kind of connection and experiences with their friends, or at least from my perspective they don't anyway. Thank you for this video, I hope you are all well and healthy.
You have amazing insight for someone so young. 💕
Hope everyone is doing good and staying safe. Sending support and hearts to all. ❤❤❤
If you think that people your age lost humanity because of phones then youre one of those people youre talking about.
@@jmarais There is not a lot of logic in this comment, and it is also offensive towards the original commenter. I think the opposite is true, I think he is very unique to understand this difference, and his understanding is highly valuable.
I agree friends now days don’t have deep connections. At least that’s for me. But mainly bc ppl don’t seek real. Even myself I don’t seem real to ppl. Maybe because I have trust issues.
I remember my young son asking me what was going on. I told him the Princess of Wales died. He thought for a moment and asked, "Who's gonna take care of the whales?" Chokes me up even now.
How young was he then, but he *was* concerned for them =)
Oh wow...
The innocence of children never fails to remind us that there will be happier tommorrows no matter what.
Oh my God, please say this story will be/has been told at his wedding. So sweet.
,💖💖💖💖
bruh the mood of the room changed so fast when they announced she was dead.
It was shocking
@@watermelonlover745lt sure was
I know 😢😢😢
Bruh?
It did in my house too! 😢
I wasn’t alive when Princess Diana died, but I remember after hearing and reading about all the things she did and how terribly she was treated by her ex-husband, I felt the need to cry. She seemed like a genuinely wonderful person and the fact her husband had the nerve to cheat on her, bring the woman who he cheated on her with to the funeral, and then marry the mistress, pissed me off to no ends meet. That woman deserved so much better and a longer life.
It was an arranged marriage. Charles didn't want to marry diana
@@goodluck-mx4qr human emotions are MUCH more than god.
@@mione12gft71 she did not want it either but she still had the decency towards her partner while he was just a shit. She suffered while he is still alive sadly.
I mean, they both "cheated". This was an arranged marriage inside of a royal system of marriages. The fact that the infidelity pissed you off so much was a big part of the problem. If they weren't forced into such a public arrangement, there wouldn't be so many problems with it. Yes, she deserved so much better, but she didn't deserve the judgement of people like you. She wasn't the heroine in a disney princess tale like you've been lead to believe.
@@nightfury3746 imagine being forced into marry a woman you didn't want to marry. If she handled the situation better, good for her. But it's human emotions we're talking about. We do not react the same. We're not robots
3:05 What a time capsule! Diana's death, a landline phone, a dictionary on the shelf, a box TV....tragedy aside, what a capture.
This just shows me what people meant when they said the whole world stopped
it really did.
I will never forget where I was when I saw it on the news.
Even at that time I wasn't in England, the world did stopped.
It was truly heartbreaking
It did
The drastic shift in tone from the guys really shows how terrible this was.
This video gave me anxiety because they had no idea yet
I never liked Diana
Never understood what the brits so much loved about her. She Was just woman
@@maja5490 she was an incredible woman though
As with any political figure, even if a figurehead, her life carried great significance. She was elegant and cared deeply for others, particularly children. Though she had could every want a woman could desire and every need met in abundance, she seemed as if she could part with all of it on the whims of her heart and still be fulfilled, and that was refreshing in a hyper consumerist world. And that resonated with a lot of Americans.
@@maja5490 “She was celebrated in the media for her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages initially centred on children and the elderly but she later became known for her involvement in two particular campaigns, that involving the social attitudes towards and the acceptance of AIDS patients, and the campaign promoted through the International Red Cross for the removal of landmines. She also raised awareness and advocated ways to help people affected with cancer and mental illness. The Princess was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the acrimonious collapse of her marriage.” - and this is just a summary on Wikipedia of what she’s done, do your research before you choose to be ignorant. She had a huge following and used it for good,
Nearly 26 years later and her death still makes me cry. I was a party and the tv was on. When the news broken that she died, everyone was shocked and saddened. Several of us were in tears. Princess Diana was loved.
😮😢OMG God I feel the same way. Still in deep sadness after all this time. Was the wrong person killed in that car smash. She will never be forgotten and her flame will never be extinguished.😢
2:44
The atmosphere was so light hearted and friendly.
Then everything took a one-eighty the moment she was announced dead.
The horrified scream, the deafening silence, that’s as real as it gets.
The dude laughing at the overreaction is the best shit ever
It’s chilling how the mood shifts right when they see that she passed away.
Very chilling. The scream through headphones was too.
Still so heartbreaking
To see the moods shift was absolutely heartbreaking
I remember this day.
I woke up on the last day of my holiday to the news(U.K.). Like these guys I just stood there in disbelief before running to tell my family. In what would normally have been a happy, busy seaside town it felt eerily quiet with posters of her death everywhere.
When the guy gasps and said “Princess Diana dead” I was literally shocked, I knew she died but damn, the reactions are just freaky.
Same pinch
Princess Diana had more impact on the world than you think
Yeah, and I know that it isn’t the same thing but this is giving off the same feel of when the two towers fell and everyone was suprises
it was huge because diana did so much for people everywhere
Legit thought the same thing to myself
My mom used to tell me that she cried when the news broke out. She was utterly shocked and she loved her and her compassion so much. We are from the Philippines. She was and is indeed very much loved.
Thank you so so much for sharing this moment with us.
Idk if she knew it but that woman was so genuinely loved all over the world. People felt connected to her. This video brings back memories of how my family reacted.
My mom was bawling talking about how they were the same age and that many girls followed her life. The aid work she did in Africa, how great of a person she was. She treated everyone with selfless love, kindness, compassion and respect all the same but died a horrific death for it. She was a hero and a role model for good imperfect people. They don’t make ‘em like her anymore. RIP
It’s such a big deal. I don’t think I ever witnessed a celebrity death quite as globally devastating as hers
My mom is about the same age as Diana was/would be too, and though she doesn't care much about the royals since we're American, I think she felt a connection with Diana because of their age and they had both been young mothers around the same time. I was a baby when this happened so I don't know how she reacted to her death, but she speaks highly about her still and absolutely hates Charles for what he did to her. I'm sure a lot of women of similar age at that time really saw her as a role model.
My Peruvian granma was devastated by the news when it was announced in Peru, when we say she was loved by everyone, we do mean EVERYONE, no matter the country
Not only loved but she was super popular back then n on the same level popularity with hollywood superstars, paparazzi always releasing everything bout her on media, tv, newspaper , n etc, so hearing her die just like that in the moment where she still on her peak, its like a rain coming without thunder, so of course everybody shocked coz it looks impossible
My heart ACTUALLY dropped when one of the friends said “NOW IT SAYS PRINCESS DIANA DEAD!”. I can really feel the sadness and disbelief they felt just from the recording.
Same here! I’ve never experienced something like that before. Goes to show the weight and shock of it all.
The gay community really looked up to her since she changed the way how heterosexuals saw us. She helped fight stigma of aids.
@@FilmSureelist97 Really? (I’m genuinely asking) well she seems amazing. She sounds like she was a wonderful person
my mum said that on the day of diana's funeral, the entirety of the uk was completely silent, like the entire country was in mourning
@@bunnyravve yeah that was partially explored in season 4 of “the crown” where in one scene she was in an orphanage or something with kids who had HIV and was told that they weren’t being adopted because of the stigma so she hugged one of the children on camera to show that it was safe but I’m not sure if that specific situation happened in real life
My mom told me this was one of those moments “where you remember exactly where you were and what was happening when you found out”
Yeha same
Your mom is right. I was a high school graduate in Germany and had only seen a few pictures of Diana in magazines at the dentist‘s. I didn‘t know much about her. And yet the news struck me like lightning. I was sitting in my parked car, waiting for a friend and turned on the radio. And then the world suddenly stopped. Even though I was alone in the car, the news anchor was not in anyway emotional and I had no real idea who Princess Diana was. I felt like something terrible had happenend.
Mine said that too!
very true.
Yes I can still remember where i was when this happened 😕
you know someone is well loved when even people from another country are heart broken over their death
This video is absolutely incredible. It shows the perspective of what was really happening unlike anything we have ever seen. I was only five years old when she died so seeing the genuine reactions like this is nothing short of remarkable. Crazy how things work out in the end. Trying out your new camera and you happen to catch this moment of history. Incredible!! And thank you for posting!
The first part we heard that she had broken a leg, then she was seriously injured and then she died. Such a sad day
My guess is they probably weren't sure, at first, as to how much they should disclose to the public for privacy reasons, so even the journos reporting on it were kept somewhat in the dark until the confirmation.
@@Erizedd I think so and doctors usually don't declare someone dead after 1-6 hours (depends what the cause of dead) just incase miracle happen outside the medical help.
They said broken arm at first, where I was in the U.S.
I was watching just like these guys were. It was very sad. It's still sad.
@@NOBODY-fz3im This video is about Princess Diana and that is why people are discussing the sadness of her passing. No one is saying that the death of Diana is worse than anyone else.
I remember that. I was home alone and when they said she had a broken leg I was so relieved it wasn't more serious. Then came the news she was dead. I was surprised at how upset that made me. Just cried. It was the same when I heard John Lennon had died. Terrible loss of great people who made a difference in the world.
The sad thing is: paparazzi were still taking pictures of her right after the accident while she was bleeding and dying. Her driver was also very intoxicated.
i hate that driver
Its medically advised to not remove anyone during a crash and to wait for the first responders
That's the paparazzi job though.
My husband and I were in a c/w dance club when the band announced it. There was shocked silence and they went into Garth Brooks "The Dance". We got home at about 12:30 am PST (8:30 am in England) and it was all over the news.
@Jerry D. Metz no not europe! but just the uk.......
I remember this. I was 15. The whole family gathered around the TV, just like you guys did. Mom and I were crying. Diana was such an amazing person. Losing her was felt all over the world. My father was from England and i still have some relatives over there. He died two years before Diana was killed.
Thank you for sharing your memories. Seeing you guys playing UNO and silently sitting in shock in the living room brought back memories, both fond and sad.
My daughter was 16 and my son was 13 when Diana died. It was one of the saddest things that happened in the 1990s, for sure.❤❤❤✌🏻
I'll never forget this moment. The shock that went through me and was felt around the world. So devastating and unforgettable.
Hello Lisa, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??
Tragedy aside, having your friends over to play UNO and have a good time is wholesome and heartwarming.
And without alcohol.. hard to believe.
This is so sad.....
So 90’s
Yeah phones are not that good
It is just the lads
I felt it when the guy shouted "Princess Diana dead!"
Same I felt the panic and anxiety
Instantly too
yep
He didn’t shout it. Lol
I gasped and my whole body shivered, it's strange coz we KNOW
This video always showed up on my recommended page and I just had to watch it today. Chills all over my body. I would've been only 2 years old when you, Sir, recorded this video. The energy of your friends is very similar to the ones I have, plus we always loved Diana and her humanitarian acts that made her special from everyone else. If I had just one moment to talk to her, I would thank her for being an advocate of kindness and solidarity towards my brothers who had HIV throughout the AIDS pandemic. There will never be another person like her. "Goodbye England's Rose..." 🌹
Thank you for your nice comment.
This gave me chills. 1997 first weekend home from college. Fun came to a standstill- we were all gathered around a TV about the same size. Stunned disbelief and sadness even though we were somewhat clueless 18 year old Americans. Princess Diana was beloved by millions and millions of us. What a beautiful soul we lost 💔
This video is literal history. People often say the world stopped when she died but this is proof of how much she matter to a great many people
You mean herstory!
The world definitely stopped. Never seen anything like it. Empty streets (more than lockdown) no TV, no radio just sad music and news. Crazy crazy time. God knows what it would have been like today with all the social media and everybody camera ready to post!
@@beny988 hope ur joking
Well a lot of people were sleeping
Absolutely feels like a member of our own family.. one of the most beloved people that ever lived
This is pure micro-history, just ordinary people living historical events, thanks for sharing, you could have stopped recording any moment but you didn't
For real. It’s crazy that a group of friends playing Uno could capture such an important moment in history.
Yeah - I wish there was more stuff like this on youtube.
This type of stuff wi be helpful for historians trying to guage the reactions of people
I'm glad he didn't
Now is our turn with the virus, thats our historical event
I liked Diana, I feel she was one of the few famous people that actually earned the respect people gave her.
The fact that the guy screamed after seeming so calm gave me goose bumps. Immediately changed the air. It was a damn shame. People like her never stay for very long… the people who chased her killed her. The driver killed them. It’s just a shame. If she’d had a seatbelt on she would have been fine.
But like I said, rare creatures like her never stay for very long…
No, the driver, them letting him speed way above the speed limit and endangering innocent people are at fault and her not wearing a seat belt killed her. No one else was at fault.
Quickest shutdown of a game of Uno in history......and fair enough. This moment truly shocked the world.
Also most conflict free shutdown of Uno.
Biggest uno reverse card of all time.
It shook me to the nerves when one of them suddenly said that Princess Diana dies, followed by the scream
I know, that guy was so shocked and upset.
Me too. That sound was haunting.
My Mother in Law, My Daughter and I were watching TV and having snacks. It was my daughter's 13th birthday. We all had that same reaction. We all shrieked, covered our mouths and then cried. We had prayed for her and lit candles We were just devastated.
@@emobutterflylady I was watching tv too and I remember I began to cry, she died young.
I'm not sure whether they were just friends, but I like how the guy in the white comforts him there afterward
I was around 8 when this happened, we were on vacation in Santa Barbra and I'll never forget my mother started crying and shaking and saying "they just couldn't leave her alone" over and over again. Everyone around me was truly devastated and I remember there being a distinct heaviness in the days following the news.
The entire world loved her, I saw a documentary about her history 'cause I didn’t born at the year she died but I learned her story for curiosity, she was an extraordinary human and person, the entire world truly stopped by her death
The cameraman did an amazing job capturing the mood
Yes he did! ❤️❤️❤️
felt strange, almost scary anticipating these guys finding out about her death
Yeah kind of creepy knowing what they are about to learn
same
They were expecting the bad news And when it was confirmed they could not believe it... absolutely silence
I’ve watched tv footage from the morning of 9/11/01 and it’s very eerie. One person even said that it was a little “too quiet” of a morning. Yikes!
dramatic irony
My mom LOVED Princess Diana. That was how I knew about her.. magazines with her on the cover were stacked in her room.
It was a Sunday, and I remember that because my mom can only sleep afternoons on Sunday and I had to wake her up. It was really sad for me as a 12-yo because the only real princess I knew back then had died and every channel on my TV was reporting on it. I've seen a lot of her interviews even back then and I've come to admire her class and beauty and grace.
She was loved by so many people, I don't believe there's ever gonna be anyone like her again
I often find myself coming back to this video. Even though Princess Diana's death was tragic, it's like a time capsule of life in the 90s. For a little over five minutes, I see friends getting together on a Saturday evening in the late Summer. (August 30, 1997 for those in the U.S.) I see friendship and love. The lighting and the clothing is reminiscent of the 90s. Then it fades out.❤
That cameraman is a legend still filming obviously everyone is in shock
Yeah, can you imagine him pointing around that bigass camera the size of a microwave oven?
@@solmoman My camcorder wasn't quite THAT big. More like the size of a box of Kleenex or small toaster.
@@alan-light Hey thank you so much for posting this and sharing this with us. It's so hard breaking and sentimental.
@@alan-light It's amazing that you chose to stay and recorded your friends' reactions instead of immediately pointing it at the TV screen. Otherwise this video probably wouldn't blow up
@@solmoman bro... our videocameras weren't that big in 1997 LOL
When he pointed and said “Princess Diana dead” and the other followed with a scream sent chills up my arms and idk why
Same my heart dropped like I heard it for the first time
My heart started pounding
Me too. The energy was there. The loss was real.
Omg same here - chills up my arms
Because we did the exact same thing at that very moment.
Thank you for your video, it made me go back to that time when I sobbed uncontrollably and quite hysterically upon hearing her death. Several male colleagues rushed to the department where I was working and yelled at me, " Hey, your relative has just died! It's all over the news! Watch the TV now! Our deepest sorry for your loss... "
I was a devoted fan of the late dearly beloved Princess of Wales and I adored her so much (still is) and would cheerfully say in jest to my naïve former colleagues that we are related by blood.🤣😢😓.
I remember my mother once told me about her experience when she learned Diana had died. She was a role model to her, and some people don’t realize how much her respect and acceptance for everyone really had an impact on others. For people in the gay community with AIDS and stuff going around, Diana shaking a patients hand really changed some peoples lives and showed that people don’t have to be scared. Diana will be always be missed, we will always need more people like that in the world
The one who was joking the most, was the one hurt the most with the news :( bless him
jokes make difficult things easier when times get hard.
To be fair, he was moreso making fun of CNN's craving for news back in the day. It was a lot more harder to get reliable information readily from around the world and with the Gulf War over for a while now they were really running dry on relevant things to talk about. Them jumping on a story about a celebrity either injured or arrested for a DUI or something else mundane was common. Unfortunately this time it wasn't just something mundane.
Great observation. He was trying to deflect his initial concern with jokes.
A lot of people use humor to cope when they're feeling down. I think a lot of us can relate to that guy, sadly.
There's often a disconnect in those moments. Like, you know something serious has happened, and you're focused on it, but until the penny drops you don't really change
It's so insane to think that Americans would have heard and reacted to this news first before the British and they would have woken up to it
Wow. Didn’t occur to me..
@@user-ix5wf2mn7dMost of us were asleep in the UK as it was during the night, whereas it was still daytime hours in US. We woke to the news
I've never thought of this before!
@@user-ix5wf2mn7d The crash in France was at like 4am is what they mean so we woke up to the news on a Saturday/Sunday morning would have been about 12pm in parts of US so it would've been on cable news there before we heard about it
@@LoopyLoo11 Yeah this was on TV from the start here in NYC
What a tragedy. Still, adorable that a group of friends sit together to play UNO. It's great to see how good of friends ya'll were, and hopefully still are. Ken got hugged on the sofa. I wish that consolation for everyone.
I can imagine the chills watching the news live, waiting and watching until the text changed. This is literal history, I love this video and I thank you for uploading it. The suspense of the text and the news changing and the whole room becoming quiet. I wish she would’ve lived longer. It sucks.
Its chilling when it goes from jokes and laughter to dead silence.
that was my reaction when Michael Jackson died. Same thing. At first I was like haha oh dear..then shock hit me.
@@reneecrotty6910 yes !same
@@reneecrotty6910 yep same here, I still haven’t gotten over either of their deaths.
@Shruti Tripathy MJ's death triggered a crazy reaction. GOOGLE broke down because it couldn't handle the overload with people googling his name that day. Internet was just down nationwide. Music sales went through the roof. It was bittersweet. People realized too late he truly was one of a kind
My dad was 34 when this happened; he said it wasn’t like a famous person dying and a few fans getting upset, this was literally national heartbreak in the UK, her funeral is still the 2nd most watched television event in British history behind only the World Cup Final of 1966
Absolutely spot on. We were all devastated. We felt like we had lost a close friend. I was 18.
I guess it was a world wide heartbreak. ........... And the world just lost another beautiful person.
My dad was 34 too.. I was only 8 I remember this day so clearly.
I was born over 10 years after this happened. It’s really cool to see people’s reaction to this.
Both London and Paris plunged into a deep surreal silence
I was born on August 31, 1997. My mom said she remembers watching the news of Diana’s death while she was in the hospital room. So watching this video is very interesting for me, showing me the world that I was entering.
Absolutely brilliant footage that showed realtime emotions and life back in the 90s. Thank you for uploading
Everyone was calm when it said Diana seriously injured. They even said, wow anyone is lucky to survive that. And then mass shock that it turns into a death. It shows how much our brains try to separate life and death. True reality doesn't always hit you until it's right in your face.
Wonder how they reacted to the queen
@@july5699 the Queen was 96, not 36 yrs 🤦♀️
@@40yrsago Literally. You can't compare an old person that lived their whole life dying of old age, to someone young, dying in a horrible car crash.
@Crazy Babuska Man Of course there's a difference between an elderly person's death, and a young person's.
HOWEVER - the Queen's death was not the same as the average elderly person's death. Because she was so globally famous, because she was in a unique position, because it affects British history and politics, etc. - all those factors influence people's reactions to her death.
So absolutely many people have been in more shock over it, compared to another elderly person's death. Polls actually suggest nearly half of all Brits, have actu3 shed a tear over her death (which we generally don't do, when hearing of random elderly people's death. Even famous elderly people).
But yeah - not the shock on the level of Diana's death (given Diana's age, plus the tragic and unexpected nature of it). But definitely a shock on some level, regardless.
I remember coming home after a night out, turning on the TV and seeing the news about the crash. I stayed up all night watching different channels, all that time pretty much waiting for the journalists to tell that they once again overreacted and blown thing out of proportions and Diana was lightly injured but otherwise okay. Then the message came that she had died....
I am not entirely sure why TH-cam suddenly reccomended this to me.. but this gave me flashbacks to my childhood to when I heard it..
Rest in Peace Diana.. you are still missed dearly
Same but i was thinking its because I just watched the spencer trailer
I was looking at videos of Prince and this was in my recommended videos. Gosh I remember seeing this on tv at the time.
@@greef_karga6402 yes same
A trailer for a movie about her called Spencer just came out so maybe That has something to do with it
Same...
This is such a precious video! It's priceless to witness people's reaction, to see old 90s America not in a movie and whole video is a history itself for me. I'm from Russia, 90s baby and grew up watching old American and soviet of course movies. I don't remember seeing this on news, I was 6, but I do remember hearing Princess Diana many times on TV being a child. I learned about her much later and I'm proud to be called Diana, thanks mom, she is such a good example for me. I also think people back then had much more compassion, maybe today young men would have reacted differently, at least wouldn't pay attention to it that much. Since I'm writing this in the end of 2023 I would like to hope that 2024 dark days will end and we somehow learn to communicate again. I want us to be friends, not the enemies, we are all the same people.
This is fascinating. So many of us were having similar discussions and reactions that night. Thank you for sharing this!
People born after this event won’t ever understand just how loved Princess Diana is.
She was less of the royal family’s princess and more of the whole world’s princess. She still is.
in the UK she was always known as the peoples princess, its why they let her keep the title once she divorced charles.
I was 2 years too late to know
I was 7 years old and I cried as I watched the news report on her death. But before that I didn't even know her existed but felt as though she had been really important. And that was the first time I cried about something on the news.
I wasn’t born then. My mom was. She remembers tearing up when she heard the news.
Because she is human, they are not.
My mom called me and said “Did you hear? Princess Diana died”…. She was crying. My dad had just died that January and I think it just hit her heart harder because she just suffered through losing her husband. Now my mom is gone too and that moment was etched in my memory .
I’m sorry for your losses 😞
May they rest in peace ♡
I'm so sorry, Jamie. I really wish you peace and well..
So sorry for your losses 🕊❤️❤️
rest in peace
It's amazing that you have this footage. I remember I was lying in bed, watching tv, dozing off when the first newsflash came on, then I was transfixed by the coverage, as was everyone else.
This is quite historic because then, youtube and filming reaction that eventually got shown publicly were probably unheard of. One gets really drawn to watching the video because this was in 1997 and a non-fiction event among friends was captured. Thank you for sharing this important moment of your lives and of history.
Her death was tragic not just for England, but for every other nation on the planet. Every nation mourned.
Yes we did 🌷🌷
The UK not just England. We’re made up of 4 countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, we’re a union. She was the princess of Wales.
Yes we did too. And I was far far far away from UK then.
I think the commonwealth especially felt it. We have a symbolic relationship with our former colonial masters on a cultural level.
Absolutely 💔
Diana was like a rare precious jewel 💎
it’s almost scary how fast everyone goes silent. although i wasn’t around when she passed away it seems like there was basically worldwide shock
If you watch The Crown on Netflix it gives you a good idea how she was loved back then. She was absolutely the center of attention in the very best way all over the world.
She was a huge cultural and social icon- her death shocked the world
I was 11 and I still remember where I was and what I was doing
@@AdrianaRodriguez-xz4oe myself as well. Tbh I didn't know anything about her other than parents had mentioned her a few times. They were watching a movie or something and I saw a headline on yahoo (this used to be bigger than Google on the internet in 1997, for you young ones) she had died. Announced it to the family and mom was just like "WHAT. R U JOKING." The surprise in these guys is real
@@braidena1633 i’m glad i’m 18 and know a lot about the early age of the internet, because i started using it at an early age and learned about 90s internet
Revisiting this after warching season 6 of "The Crown" 😢 in 2023
same!
I was almost 15 when Di passed, and it was devestating to the entire world. Watching this just brought back all those tears. Thank you for preserving this historic moment. 💙
Tenia tu misma edad, es más recuerdo bien ese día q termine descompuesto pero más q nada por la ingesta de Pringles y coca cola en exceso, pero seguramente se debio al seguimiento de la noticia en vivo y directo, la cobertura fue de varias horas
In 1997, this video would have little to no significance to anyone outside of those featured in it, but now, this video is genuine history. It’s so amazing to be able to take a intimate look at how a group of American friends reacted to this news. Thanks for posting this.
This wasn’t even the time of smart phones. Few people had video recorders in those days.
@@JewelBlueIbaneza lot of people in those days had a camcorder stored away somewhere, just not everyone had them out for seemingly mundane events like hanging out with your friends for a night of UNO.
@@CharlieTooHumanThey were ahead of their time for sure.
You must be new here. 🌎
The whole world listened to developments live and on the radio. We were shook, it meant everything and more. Young one, this was a VERY big deal!
I was an exchange student in Florida at the time and I remember the next morning they told me about it
I remember my 11th and 12th Grade teacher once said that she doesn't have any special connections to Princess Diana but when she saw the news she cried for something that she can't even explain.
I did too.
My mum always described her as "The people's Princess" she was so humble and kind and generous to everyone she met.
She had an ability to close the gap between royalty and the people.
Love and humanity. She was the only voice out there that represented and worked for those things within the global community. Making her an asset to humanity and a human global presence. People were crying because they knew we weren’t going to hear the message and feel the warmth of compassion anymore. And that’s true. Nobody’s replaced that voice because nobody really has the authentic drive to help people or each other. Right now here in Canada it’s a police state and growing colder. I’m missing Diana a lot, lately.
i think it was the primal knowledge that the world had lost a very special person...regardless of the connections people could have to her...she impacted the whole world in so many ways that people knew the world's light had dimmed just a little bit...
My sister called and told me the next day and I dropped the phone and screamed no and fell to the floor and cried. Princess Diana was a huge inspiration to me so to me it was a huge loss! 😢😢😢
Thank you so much for sharing this. It’s actually comforting because I still mourn the loss of Diana, and I like your group gathering too.
the man with his arm wrapped around his pal is a true friend.
As someone born after Princess Diana’s death I never truly understood the impact of her death until seeing a group of ordinary people in America react in such a way. Thank you for this video.
same
I was a small half-American half-Japanese kid going to an international school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with students from toddlers up to high school. The first few pages in our yearbook were dedicated specially for her. Comes to show how this impacted people and industries world wide.
I never really felt any attachments too, but my mother always told me of what a wonderful person she was. Nothing bad about her ever comes out from my mother’s mouth
She had such a big impact its incredible she touched everyone's hearts
I was 9 when it happened and was absolutely devastated. I cried so much, and surprisingly even just now. I looked up to her and her humanitarian efforts tremendously. It was such an eerie, surreal feeling when it happened . It's wild how affected everyone was. She was really amazing. Rest in power. 💜
It’s crazy how quick their demeanor changes. Almost like they thought Diana was invincible or something, they couldn’t imagine her dying until it happened. Super fascinating video!
@@es78xx not really, unless you’re a fan or something, no disrespect
There are some people that it is unthinkable could die young. We see celebrities drugged up, reckless, flaunting money, and we shrug and say it's a shame when they die. Those people (celebrity or not) that value life and humankind, live clean and promote good causes, when they die, there's a puzzle piece that just doesn't fit. People like that just don't die. It's "not right."
I feel like we all felt that way, we all felt she was so amazing that she was almost unrealistic until reality hit us all in the face
Its some sort of mind control and i’m not saying this to be weird but ever noticed how you can react in shock with some people dying that you never really admired but always heard about for many years. We are tricking our own brains to think we actually know them. When you hear stories of regular people dying most feel sympathy but most of the time we let it go right away because we don’t know them.
@@es78xx this was different. Maybe you weren’t alive yet in 1997? ….just wondering?
The homies just chilling with uno cards in there age is amazing :')
It’s just what we did back then. Our house was the hang out house so, every night, between my brother and me, we probably had 10 people over. We just hung out, played games, penny poker, pool… I don’t remember drinking being what it is now, back then. I have boxes of pictures from us hanging out and I don’t think you’ll see a beer in any except those at actual parties.
I like that you’ve kept this video and uploaded it onto here. It’s interesting to see everyone’s reactions to the news.
Just watching this got me, it’s still so horribly sad. I was only 6 & a half when she died but I remember seeing the news of her accident and her death. I knew who she was from her doing the landmine walk in Angola.
i love how genuine and unfiltered this is its rare to see things like these today
Yes. Also because there wasn’t the possibility to upload a footage on a social media, or send it to phone contacts…they didn’t exist . When you took a picture of your friends they would act like being themselves or joking with you, but they absolutely didn’t care to collect likes from the other side of the world, changing their attitude for the social media pleasure.
Thats exactly the reason i clicked
@@m.r.4455 FACT..
Agree100%
Life in the 80's and 90's seems interesting
This is a literal manifestation of the "It's all fun and games until..." meme
Exactly what I thought.... Just the tension and disbelief in the air
I love how you all just comfort each other during such a sad time then.
Given that this happened the year before I was born, it's both sobering and astounding to be able to see a glimpse of real time emotinal responses to her death. Just shows how beloved she was.
The mood changed completely.
She changed the world, even a fun loving group of buddies felt the pain of losing that beautiful princess
In Europe and America
@@tobiasgriffin4263 dude it was the whole world, everyone loved her and still does, she had 2.3 billion live viewers during her funeral, one of the most viewed non sporting events ever
A very smart and kind Princess
@@ILLUSI_O_N-V1 it was a good amount of the world. Rarely do people have an impact on most or almost all of the world
@@tobiasgriffin4263 In Russia she is also very loved and respected just because of her kind heart and what a good person she was
Almost everybody in the world had loved her. This is something that the royal family can’t take from her. She is forever remembered.
Except for her ex-husband
@@specialc8142 uh, no, he can’t take the fact that most people loved her away. No matter what he says or does (or anyone else, for that matter), nothing can take that away. Don’t know how you think he took that away. Him not acknowledging it, or whatever you may think he did, does not, and could not, take that away.
@@slimshead8100 its meant that whole world loved her but not her husband...
@@specialc8142 can't blame him really.
Only anglos and europe maybe, thats not the whole world
What a great footage. Thanks for your posting!
Honestly this is so surreal to watch, you genuinely could’ve thought this was a scene from a movie. Props to the cameraman
I love how the guy in the white shirt is comforting his shocked friend or partner on the couch
Yh that was really sweet
Yes i noticed that too
Back when humans interacted
It's so cute
Yeah nowadays if same-sex-friend touches each other ppl react strangely. Actually Dr.Watson and Sherlock Homes are pretty good stuff on earth.
These guys are lucky for recording this historic event
Especially since not everyone had a camera yet, especially digital ones.
And the Internet wasn't as widely used.
@@RB01.10 cameras were very wide use
For upper middle class, maybe... camcorders were very expensive. We didn't have one until early 2000s because $$$
What's the luck in this? It was a tragedy.
@@Geneattenborough lucky for them to capture their reaction to this unfortunate historic moment.
Thank you Alan for posting this. This reminded me how I was watching this same news on TV giving live coverage on princess Diana's accident with so much shock living in my country Sri Lanka, a small Asian country and praying and hoping against hope that she will be alright. Never ever thought she will die from the accident. This video reminded me of that day when I was watching CNN breaking news without moving from the TV the same way you guys were watching. I still can't really believe that this accident really happened and my loving doting Princess died that day. 😪😪😪😪
AMAZING camera work. Thank you very much.
Ken's scream broke my heart. My friend called me as soon as it happened and she was crying uncontrollably. Her and her mom LOVED Princess Diana and it's was one of the worst nights knowing such a beautiful soul was gone forever.
Wow
Yes, his scream made me start crying as if it just happened.
My whole family was together that night and all I remember is my aunt saying, “she’s a mother of two boys” and started bawling. All the women in our family lost it. The men were silent. She is the definition of humanity.
We had a similar experience. A friend had the gang over for cocktails and the mood changed when we heard about the crash, and we turned on the news. What hit me the hardest was, as we were sitting in shock after her death was announced, one of my friends quietly said "those poor boys..."
Perfectly described how many of us still feel. 😥❤
@@eden20111 especially back then, men tend to be raised to keep their emotions silent or to be unbothered. It’s “strength”, and men are “supposed to be strong”, although we all know that’s not really the case.
@@monicasmm It was a bit different in my family. I'm glad we didn't have such mentalities, despite the fact that my grandma was born in 1932 and my mom was born in 1953. My uncle, born in 1954, was actually the only one who cried about this incident, the rest were just shocked. I'm neither English nor American, but Princess Diana was universally loved by many.
My partner rarely cried, but we lay in bed crying our eyes out when we heard .
I too was at a game night when this was on the tv, just like this. Their faces and body language is exactly what we were doing. I’m crying again remembering that moment through these men. She was a TRUE princess!
“Oh..she died” those were my moms exact words too. The sheer shock of it all, you see it right before you but it takes your mind a second longer to actually register the news. May she Rest In Peace🕊.
Crazy these dudes never knew they’d be watched by millions. I hope they know we appreciated their reactions!
Yes
why does this have one comment
Now they know
We gotta thank the guy who kept recording and for him we are able to see this
Bruh they're not dead, maybe they know this video exist
I clearly remember I was underaged, in a club, and they stopped the music quite abruptly. And people had the same reaction. Screams then silence then friends and strangers holding each other.
wow. I just can't imagine having that kind of reaction about a public figure
Wow... pretty crazy. I can’t imagine for any public figure of today. Michael Jackson was maybe the last celebrity that was adored by most people on earth.
EDIT: actually, I think Eminem might be the last celebrity alive to be adored by a lot of people and the day he dies will be devastating (for me at least lol).
@@SweeetSpice yes but Eminem is not loved by all culture's and religions like mj and diana
@@SweeetSpice I’m thinking Cher, Madonna, and Beyoncé may have that kind of worldwide heartbreak? (I’m not personally big fans of any of them, I’m just thinking they might have that kind of pull. Also Obama, and Michelle Obama.)
I agree about Eminem. I remember when MJ died, and the continuous reporting while he was en route to the hospital and being worked on. Crazy stuff, the whole world being tuned into just one person and wanting them so badly to live. Most people die and even their family doesn’t know for hours, sometimes days.
Omg awwh *tears up* im really empathetic
Thank You for sharing this 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I still remember the British newsreaders going to black tie and dress in order to break the news. In the UK, when all programmes are cut, and you hear the words "this is bbc television from London" you just go cold as you know that something historical is about to be reported. Thanks so much for uploading this. One of the most important modern, historical videos on TH-cam.
can you imagine the desparation of all of the doctor and medical team who witnessed princess diana’s last moment and couldn’t bring her back 😢
Like for any patient I guess
I'm sure they massaged her heart by hand
@@zizographie The teen-like celebrity worship shown by adults in this comment section is borderline scary.
I'm sure they're used to having that happen.
@@zizographie Yeah but more pressure here I would think!
This was the worlds reaction. It didn’t matter what colour, religion or background you were, EVERYONE LOVED HER!!
❤️❤️
Except her Husband
True
I loved her!
Honestly... I wasn't a fan, and know others who felt the same.
I was only seven years old when this happened, but even I was stuck with immense grief at the news. I remember sitting with my mom on the couch when the news broke, both of us in shock and quite upset. She is truly The People’s Princess and The Queen of Hearts. May she continue to rest peacefully.