The alternative fairy story: Diana and the sexual dissidents

By drawing on feminist and queer theory this paper explores the nature of D iana, Princess of Wales' changing relationship with the gay comnunity, and gay politics. We argue that from her wedding to her funeral, Diana's life a nd death epitomised a series of powerful paradoxes. She began her married l ife as the embodiment of heterosexuality, at the heart of a royalist landsc ape characterised by hierarchy, deference, patriarchy and class privilege. She was a symbol of the 'centre', the establishment, that was supposed to r epresent unity yet ironically marked division; she was in a powerful positi on yet powerless. But we go on to argue that at her death, she had become t he embodiment of radicalism and a powerful survivor.