She must have been a very special sort of person, the kind who can leave an entire country in mourning, and the whole world in shock.

The death of Princess Diana in a car accident early Sunday, Aug. 31, has left many people in shock, including Iowa State student Erika Kelly, who is currently in London.

Kelly, a senior in fashion merchandising, has been working in London since May. Because the accident happened late at night, she said her mother in Chicago found out before she did.

Kelly learned of Diana’s death the next day when friends told her of the news.

Soon after, Kelly walked the five-minute walk from her apartment to Kensington Palace, Diana’s home, to leave flowers for the princess. “It was so sad,” she said. Thousands of people waited in Hyde Park, adjacent to the palace, to pay their respects. “There were hundreds of people crying,” she said.

“For at least a good day, I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I didn’t expect something like that to affect me so much,” Kelly said.

Stacey Armstrong, a senior in exercise and sport medicine from Carlisle, England, said the news of Princess Di’s death made her sad, especially since she isn’t in Britain now.

Armstrong said while people in the United States are saddened by the accident, she doesn’t think they realize how much Diana meant to England and what a “huge blank” the death has left in England.

“In England right now it’s really miserable,” Armstrong said. She said everyone seems quiet and no one wants to talk about the death.

In recognition of the funeral on Saturday, all soccer games will be canceled, and nothing will be open until after the funeral, she said. “They’ve basically stopped everything for the funeral.”

Armstrong said she heard about the accident from a friend who called and told her to turn on her television. She said it was such a shock, and she immediately called her mom at what was about 5 a.m. in England.

“I actually knew before them,” Armstrong said. “My mom and my family were just in real big shock.”

Trevor Nelson, coordinator of study abroad, is from Preston, England, about 40 miles north of Manchester.

Nelson said he was informed of the accident by his daughter, who called him while he was sleeping.

“It just doesn’t seem real,” Nelson said. “Maybe when I watch the funeral on Saturday, it will become more real.”

Nelson said his initial reaction to the news was that of shock and sadness, followed by anger because of the involvement of the paparazzi and “how needless and senseless this accident has been.”

London’s reaction

The two state-owned television stations, BBC 1 and BBC 2 had continuous coverage of the story for two days, Kelly said. Many Londoners are wearing black, donning sunglasses and carrying flowers with them around the city, she said.

Kelly said the British reactions have paralleled the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Since Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s death, “they haven’t had anything this big,” she said.

At St. James’ Cathedral, where Diana’s casket isolated, Kelly said the line for signing the condolence book is eight hours long. At night, Londoners are lighting candles outside Diana’s home. Truckloads of flowers have been removed from Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace and other sites so more mourners can add to the pile.

People are also bringing flowers to Harrod’s, the large department store that Muhammad Al Fayed owns. Al Fayed’s son, Dodi Fayed, was Diana’s companion who was also killed in the car accident. A condolence book is also at Harrod’s, and the store has turned off its famous Christmas-like evening lights as a sign of mourning.

“I feel bad because it’s all Diana now — not Dodi — but people realize what he gave her,” Kelly said.

The press and a romance

Although there has not been official confirmation, Kelly said there has been talk in London that Diana and Dodi were to announce engagement plans today. Talk also is circulating that their deaths may have been a conspiracy, Kelly said.

Diana’s life was plagued by the media attention many are saying ended up killing her. But Kelly said the notoriously brash tabloids in Britain have been oddly considerate. “Here the tabloids have been really good. Stories in the paper cover her life. There’s a lot of things I didn’t know,” she said.

Although Diana was fed up with paparazzi attention, many now understand she found happiness with Fayed, Kelly said.

“She finally found peace in her last five weeks,” Kelly said.

The only pictures of the sad event Kelly has seen are photos of the crushed car, a photo of Di and Dodi leaving the Ritz hotel and photos of her casket on display in London.

With all the concern about whether the post-accident photos will be published, Kelly said one tabloid has published pictures.

Der Bild, a famous German paper, published pictures of Diana’s body slumping over Fayed’s body in the car, she said.

However, the tabloid will not be punished. Apparently, the photo was taken when the princess was still alive and when rescue workers were trying to help the accident victims, she said.

The funeral

Kelly works for a high-class German boutique in London’s premier shopping center. The fashion world there was shocked when Italian designer Versace was murdered this summer, Kelly said. Versace’s shop closed in honor of his death, and they did the same for Diana on Monday, she said. But this time, “it’s 10 times worse,” Kelly said.

People in London are anticipating Saturday’s funeral at Westminster Abbey. A procession will begin at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Diana married Charles, and is expected to last about two hours, Kelly said.

Streets will be closed and about 2,000 people will attend Diana’s funeral, she said.

A representative from every nation has an opportunity to grieve for the princess at Westminster Abbey, and a select few members of the public may be allowed to attend, she said.

The place where Kelly works may be closed for the funeral. Her boss is attending because she knew Diana, Kelly said.

Diana will have a private burial at the Spencer family church, she said.

The admiration

Armstrong said she feels sorry for Princess Diana’s two sons, William and Harry, because Diana was the one who showed them “how the outside world is living,” while Prince Charles might have isolated them.

“We’ve lost someone that could have done so much for the country,” Armstrong said.

Nelson said the incident has made him realize the high esteem that Princess Diana was held in by people throughout the world.

“Many people throughout the world had great affection for her,” he said. “Princess Diana was able to transcend many of these political difficulties.”

Kelly said people around the world are grieving. “People around the world love her — not just the British,” she said.