DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997            TAG: 9709100206

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 14   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: OLDE TOWNE JOURNAL 

SOURCE: Alan Flanders 

                                            LENGTH:   87 lines

PRINCESS DI'S DEATH REMINDS US THAT WE STILL HAVE TIES TO ENGLAND

Like many others throughout the world, the timeless image of Princess Diana remains for me a young, painfully shy, 20-year-old bride entering St. Paul's Cathedral on July 31, 1981, to join Prince Charles in a marriage that seemed written for a fairy tale.

On tour with a group of local students in Europe at the time of the royal wedding, my wife Leslie and I caught the event on a small, flickering, black and white television in a restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. We remembered how filled the restaurant was with locals literally stretching on tiptoes and craning their necks for a look.

The newlyweds appeared destined to live, as the cliche goes, happily ever after. As the news of Diana's death broke last week, I recalled how the Spanish had spilled into the narrow streets around the restaurant to celebrate her wedding as if members of their own family had just taken the vows.

I felt that way again when I witnessed the reaction in Hampton Roads to the news of Diana's death as if she had been one of our own. But in a way, it should come as no surprise.

Just recently, as I escorted British naval historian Albert Jones to various historic sites in the area, it once again become apparent to me how deep our English roots are in Hampton Roads and how much British royalty and notables have played in the area's development. Jones and I traded stories about this relationship for five days as we visited Cape Henry, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News. We were reminded constantly of this common heritage as we criss-crossed Hampton Roads, the James River and the Elizabeth River.

Once Jones heard the names Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Suffolk, he declared, ``You know, revisiting here isn't just like going back in time, it's like going home.''

Standing in Trophy Park at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, we were reminded that the facility began as Gosport Shipyard to serve Royal Navy ships and merchantmen during the Colonial period. With the former shipyard commander, we traded stories about how Jones' ship, HMS Illustrious, came to Hampton Roads in World War II and how Lord Louis Mountbatten arrived to take command and review her repairs.

Mountbatten's stay was followed by other royal members and British leaders, including the Duke of Kent, who called at Portsmouth and the shipyard to urge on the war effort, and Winston Churchill, who met with American officials at the Williamsburg Inn during the war as well.

I remember visiting Jamestown Festival Park in 1957 and marveling at the number of British flags still flying after Queen Elizabeth II's opening visit months earlier. Hearing from time to time about the Royal family in this area was like hearing about an older aunt or uncle who still exerted some influence over your life, albeit from a distance.

Not long ago the area hosted Lady Dunmore, a direct descendent of Lord Dunmore, Great Britain's last Royal Governor of Virginia who established headquarters in Hampton Roads after fleeing the Colonial capital at Williamsburg. Prince Charles first visited Virginia in May 1981 and addressed the College of William and Mary. During his speech, he focused on the shared culture of England and Virginia.

``Having always wanted to see something of Virginia, and the origins of British settlement in the new world, I hope you can imagine my joy at finally being able to pay an all-too-short visit to this state,'' he said. ``I am delighted, too, to be following in the footsteps of my parents, who came here in 1957.''

The college has maintained its British ties with the appointment of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as chancellor of the college.

Several years ago I had the honor to escort imminent British naval historian Stephen Howarth around our area's historic sites and again the conversation was dominated by the large amount of British influence still evident in this area today. He was amazed that a British flag flew over the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg and that Jamestown had come at last to be called the birthplace of English speaking America.

As we arrived at Yorktown, where it should be remembered Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army after a brief stay at Portsmouth, Howarth and I recalled America and England's brief periods of altercation during the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. But foremost in our conversation was the unbreakable friendship that had grown from that period of ``family quarrels.''

Indeed, Hampton Roads' cultural heritage shows strong and continued ties with England. That in part is why we share with the people of England their enormous grief over the tragic death of Princess Diana.

Although we fought to throw off the burdens of monarchy in 1776, we still pay it homage in 1997 as a lasting protectorate of our basic, common culture. For all too brief a time, Princess Diana was our ``royal'' princess as well.

That she took up the banner of the poor, the forgotten and the underdog sounds so American to me. That she did them with style, grace and always in good taste sounds so British. It is no wonder she is so revered on both sides of the Atlantic as she came to embody what is best about our common culture.

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