Bright stars from the worlds of art, royalty, diplomacy and Hollywood turned out Saturday in mourning black to honor Princess Diana, whose shining celebrity haunted her in her final moments of life.
Luciano Pavarotti, Diana Ross, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Sting and George Michael were there. So was Tom Cruise, who spoke out sharply against paparazzi and condemned their possible role in Diana's death in a high-speed car crash in Paris.The famous joined family friends and representatives of more than 100 charities dear to Diana.
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton also was among the 1,900 mourners at Westminster Abbey, representing the United States. Bernadette Chirac, wife of the French president, represented her country, where the princess died a week ago.
Members of Europe's royal families and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger flew to London for the funeral.
Britain honored Diana not just as a member of the royal family, but as the woman who had become the country's greatest ambassador.
Prime Minister Tony Blair read from the 1st Book of Corinthians. Former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath and James Callaghan joined mourners from every political party. Conservative lawmaker Winston Churchill, grandson of Britain's wartime leader, also was present.
More than two dozen members of Britain's royal family attended the funeral, led by Queen Elizabeth II. Sarah, Duchess of York, who is divorced from the queen's second son, Prince Andrew, made a rare public appearance with the royals.
International fashion stars came to honor the woman whose beauty and elegance graced their creations - Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace, whose brother, Gianni, was killed in July.
British designers Bruce Oldfield, whose career Diana helped launch, and Elizabeth Emanuel, who created the dress Diana wore when she married Prince Charles in 1981, were also there.
For many in the congregation, the tragedy was palpable.
Only five days after burying his son Dodi Fayed, who died with Diana in the crash, billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed looked somber as he walked into the abbey with his wife.
Pavarotti, who had said he was too distraught to come to the funeral, arrived after all, walking with the support of his girlfriend and a female aide.
Among the early arrivals were Cruise, wearing dark glasses, and his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, wearing a black hat. They stood with Hanks before the abbey's doors opened.
There were gasps from the crowd outside when Diana Ross was spotted. And spectators broke into a spontaneous cheer when millionaire businessman Richard Branson, a close friend of Diana's and owner of Virgin Airlines, arrived.
Elton John, whom Diana had comforted little more than a month ago at Versace's funeral, rewrote his moving tribute to another fallen star, Marilyn Monroe. In the revised version of "Candle in the Wind," he sang "Goodbye England's rose, from a country lost without your soul."
Singer Chris de Burgh, who recorded one of Diana's favorite songs, "Lady In Red," also wrote a song in her memory.
De Burgh, John and dancer Wayne Sleep pleaded for Diana's children, Prince William and Prince Harry, to be allowed to grow up free from the prying eyes of publicity. They said neither young prince should be made into a "victim" of publicity like their mother.
Sleep said he always would think of Diana as being "very brave for trying to break down red tape" and make the royal family more accessible.
Among Diana's well-known friends at the funeral were television interviewer David Frost and former Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan and his wife, Jemima Goldsmith, whose billionaire father, Sir James Goldsmith, died recently. The princess had made several trips to Pakistan to help raise funds for a cancer hospital established by Khan in his mother's memory.