Princess Diana had accepted an invitation from the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, to be a roving ambassador on behalf of Britain.
"I thought she was someone who was known the world over, hugely, more than respected simply, loved by people," he said yesterday. "She had a tremendous ability, as we saw over the landmines issue, to enter into an area that could have been one of controversy and suddenly just clarify for people what was clearly the right thing to do. I felt there were all sorts of ways that could have been harnessed and used for the good of people.
"She had that gift of human sympathy that was so real to people. . . They want to see how do we keep that spirit alive in our country. . . And I think the best way of doing that is a lasting continuation of her work and we will look at this very closely as to what role we can play."
Mr Blair, speaking during a BBC television interview, went out of his way to praise the royal family and reject much of the popular criticism levelled at them last week. "The royal family has been through a very hard time this week and I think criticism of them is very unfair. It has been a tremendously difficult situation for them and they have coped in a way that I think is very much to their credit," he said.
"They wanted to be there, up at Balmoral - I can understand that because the question was what was best for the children. Heaven forbid this ever happens but I know if anything ever happened to Cherie [his wife] I wouldn't actually want to have the kids in Downing Street. I would want them somewhere where they were removed from it. And so I hope that people do understand that."
Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Paddy Ashdown, said he detected in Britain "a sense in which the terms of the relationship between government and the governed has altered in the last week".
He said the people were now behaving as citizens, not subjects, and demonstrating a new self-confidence. "I think they have told us the kind of society they want. What we heard so strongly is they want a compassionate society, a fairer society, a more decent society, a more just society."
Mr Ashdown praised Mr Blair's own role in handling events following the death of the princess. "I think that he has, in quite a unique way, acted as a conduit, acted as a leader in a democratic society, and I think this has immensely strengthened his position."