Princes request special prayers for Diana

The Archbishop of Canterbury has composed two special prayers in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales at the request of Princes William and Harry.

by Caroline Davies

The prayers, released by Lambeth Palace, are to be said at the memorial service at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, in central London, being held to mark the 10th anniversary of her death on Aug 31.

It is also intended that the prayers will be used at church services around the country on the day of the service, which is to be attended by the Queen.

The prayers speak of the Princess's "vulnerability", her "willingness to reach out to the excluded" and her "tragic and untimely death".

The princes, touched by Dr Rowan Williams' powerful and poignant tribute to their mother immediately after her death, were keen for him to make a major contribution to the service.

Writing shortly after her fatal car crash, he described the response from the public as "a potent lament for a lost sacredness, a magical and highly personal but equally ritualised focus for public loyalty".

He added: "The images of her had consolidated her 'iconic' status. . . Her death produced an utterly expected outpouring of charity-related activity, egalitarian rituals to purge unmanageable emotion."

During the service, to be conducted by Patrick Irwin, padre of the household division, it is expected that the princess's sons, both now Guards officers, will give readings. It was their choice to hold the service in the Guards Chapel. But some of their other decisions about the service have already caused controversy.

Their desire for the Duchess of Cornwall to attend has been attacked as inappropriate by critics.

Commentators have claimed it is an insult to the memory of the late princess to invite the woman at whose door she so publicly laid the blame for the break-up of her marriage. She uttered her most memorable quote on the subject in a televised interview in 1995: "There were three of us in this marriage - so it was a bit crowded."

Ironically the Guards Chapel is where the duchess married her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles.

But Clarence House has maintained that she will attend despite the criticism. The duchess, only too aware of the furore, is said feel "terrible", but Prince Charles is understood to have insisted on her being at his side in a show of family unity.

There has has been controversy, too, over Prince William and Prince Harry's invitation to the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, to give the address at the service. A friend of Prince Charles's since Cambridge, some friends of the princess have claimed he is an inappropriate choice because, as executor of her will, he failed to guard her legacy.

He has never been forgiven by some of the parents of Diana's 17 godchildren for failing to ensure, as one of the trustees of her estate, that her "letter of wishes" was carried out.In this brief letter, written on June 2, 1993, the day after she signed her will, the princess had said her personal chattels were to be divided by value, with one quarter going to her godchildren.

But the letter was ignored by Diana's executors, and instead her godchildren were given token gifts, described by one parent as mere "trinkets".

Here is the full text of the prayers:

God our Father, we remember before you Diana, Princess of Wales, and offer you our gratitude for all the memories of her that we treasure still.

Her vulnerability and her willingness to reach out to the excluded and forgotten touched us all; her generosity gave hope and joy to many.

May she rest in peace where sorrow and pain are banished, and may the everlasting light of your merciful love shine upon her; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Father eternal, unfailing source of peace to all who seek you, we entrust to your love and protection all for whom this anniversary of the tragic and untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales reawakens the pains of grief and loss.

Comfort all who mourn, that casting all their cares upon you, they may be filled with your gifts of new life, of courage and of hope; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The prayers are available in both contemporary language, as shown above, and traditional language, which uses phrases such as "offer thee our gratitude" rather than "offer you our gratitude".

Telegraph, UK