The Royal family and Lady Diana

1) Political aims of the marriage:

Lady Diana brought glamour and human
sympathy to the Royal Family who needed to come into contact with people; lady
Diana was chosen in order to provide a son and a heir.

2) Aspects of lady Diana's life that
turned her into the "people's princess"

Lady Diana was able to get in touch
with ordinary people and supported numerous charitable activities (she met AIDS
patients, supported the campaign against land mines...); she was able to keep the
title of Princess of Wales, even if her marriage with Charles had ended in
1996; she was able to enjoy herself while being helpful to others.  

3) Reason why the royal family took
part to the funeral

People expected them to participate
to the funeral service. If they had ignored Lady Diana's death, people would
have  hated them all.

4) Lady Diana's death "damaged" the
family holiday at Balmoral. It seems as if they did not care about Diana's
death and went to the funeral just because they had to be equal to people's
expectations. They would have stayed at Balmoral spontaneously, but they would
have risked to ruin their image.