After making an emotional visit to Althorp, where he placed a wreath on her grave, former South African president Nelson Mandela has paid tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, calling on people to “learn from her example and embrace her legacy”.And the Nobel laureate announced that his foundation would work with the fund honouring the late Princess to help South African AIDS patients and their families. “Caring for people who are dying and helping the bereaved was something for which Princess Diana had passion and commitment,” said Mr Mandela, who went on to praise Diana for using her celebrity to battle the stigma associated with AIDS and HIV infection.
“When she sat on the bed of a man with HIV/AIDS and held his hand, she transformed public attitudes and improved the life chances of such people,” he said. “She highlighted neglected causes. She reached out to people on the margins of society.”
An estimated 4.7 million South Africans – ten per cent of the population – are believed to be HIV positive, and more than 660,000 children have been orphaned.
Mr Mandela first met Diana in Capetown in 1997, and the pair are reported to have got along “incredibly well”. “She created a tremendous impression on me,” recalled the 84-year-old statesman, who added that he was “devastated” by her death.
The former South African leader, accompanied by Earl Spencer, also attended at a charity dinner at the family home, Althorp House, hosted by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, which has financed AIDS programmes in sub-Saharan Africa in the past.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
