Even his most ardent critics would acknowledge that Prime Minister Tony Blair, his finger on the pulse of the nation, helped 'save' the Royal Family in the aftermath of the death of Diana.
The Princess's passing on August 31st 1997 came just months into the reign of 'New Labour' and the election to office of a leader dubbed 'Bambi' thanks to his youthful good looks.
The advent of a Labour government was reportedly celebrated by Diana. The Princess had become increasingly upset and infuriated by the anti-Diana sentiments of some in the Conservative government who were publicly singling her out for criticism.
These included Prince Charles's great friend, Tory MP Nicholas Soames, speaking on the night of Diana's Panorama interview in November 1995, told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the Princess was in the "advanced stages of paranoia".
Meanwhile, in January 1997, the by now divorced Princess was at the centre of a major political storm when what she saw as a purely "humanitarian" and apolitical visit to Angola to highlight the often deadly use of landmines saw her being condemned as a "loose cannon" by Conservatice Defence Minister Earl Howe.
And so it was that Diana reportedly cheered with delight when, in the early hours of 2nd May 1997, the polls showed that Tony Blair's Labour party had trounced John Major's Conservative government, catapulting into No. 10 Downing Street Britain's youngest ever Prime Minister.
Little could the joyous Princess have known that she herself would play a major part in helping to define Tony Blair's new style of premiership.
"If you had spent your life in a warship you would not know about taste"
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's response to a snob who questioned her grandson Prince Andrew's taste due to the supermarket style design of his Sunninghill home
