Princess Diana Princess of Wales 1997 Washington D.C. (Red Cross) Photo was on the cover of U.S News magazine and was the best selling issue in 70 years. © copyright John Mathew Smith 2010

Princess Diana opens The Paisley Centre and pays a visit to the Accord Hospice

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Diana, Princess of Wales, stand in front of a portrait of Frances Cleveland in the Map Room of the White House, 18 June 1997

The Princess of Wales during her visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in June 1983

Taken by me.

Princess Diana on a royal visit for the official opening of the community centre on Whitehall Road, Bristol in May 1987.

Diana, Princess of Wales while at The Leonardo Prize ceremony in 1995

Red Carpet Photo Op at the Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition

On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Her friend, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the scene; the bodyguard of Diana and Dodi, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only survivor. The death of the 36 year old princess prompted an unprecedented international outpouring of grief, and her televised funeral was watched by approximately 2.5 billion people. The news of the deaths reached New Zealand in the afternoon of the 31st of August, and the following day the Governor General, Michael Hardie-Boys, sent a letter to the Queen expressing his sympathy on behalf of the country. During the week following Diana’s death there was some confusion, both in Britain and in New Zealand, over the protocol of flying flags at half mast. At Govenment House both New Zealand flags were flown at half mast, however the personal flag of the Governor General was not, which caused concern to some members of the public. A statement from Government House was released to the public clarifying that this flag should never be flown at half mast, even for the death of a monarch. These letters come from a folder of correspondence regarding the official response of the New Zealand government to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, created by the office of the Governor General. Archives reference: AAKU W5931 14/ For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter twitter.com/ArchivesNZ Material from Archives New Zealand

Lady Diana wears Albani Salvadori-designed gown