Turn-out low at walk for Diana

Just one week before the first anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, a charity walk following the route of her funeral …

Just one week before the first anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, a charity walk following the route of her funeral cortege has failed to attract the crowds expected.

The organisers, the North London Walking Club, had anticipated that 15,000 people would turn up for the event yesterday but only 300 completed the six-mile route.

The walking club had spent £30,000 to provide each walker with a 16-page colour brochure, a commemorative rose and a photograph of the princess. Because of the low turn-out they are now facing a shortfall in profits after raising only £6,000 from registrations and another £6,000 from sponsors.

Insisting the event had been unsuccessful because of poor weather in London yesterday, the organisers said they hoped to raise more money after the walk from sponsors and members of the public. The money will be donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

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Each walker had paid £5 to complete the circular route, beginning and ending in Hyde Park, but some complained that the route was not well sign-posted and that the marshals along the route - Guardian Angels - had been difficult to find.

Mr Michael Bailey, a railway worker, said the walk was not properly publicised "and this is the result".

Meanwhile, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Coggan, has described Princess Diana as a "false goddess" with "pretty loose morals".

As the debate over a lasting memorial to the princess continues, with a Sunday Times/NOP opinion poll showing public support is growing for such a move, Lord Coggan yesterday criticised the continuing fascination with the princess's life and death.

Insisting that her legacy would not last, Lord Coggan said the British public had identified with a woman of loose morals and "certainly loose sexual morals. A period of disillusionment is bound to set in, but that provides the Church with the urgent task of presenting Christ in a fresh and clear way". Lord Coggan, who was Anglican Primate from 1974 to 1980, said the nation-wide grieving and admiration for Princess Diana had turned Britain into a godless nation. "Along came this false goddess and filled the gap for a time," he said.

"I think she gave permission to people to be compassionate and I think she had a particular influence on the 20s, 30s generation and perhaps that's where much of the new spirit of compassion is coming from," Bishop John Flack told BBC1's Breakfast With Frost.

In another opinion poll that is certain to provide a boost to Prince Charles, public opinion appears to be shifting towards a radical re-evaluation of his role as a future monarch, a father and husband to Ms Camilla Parker Bowles.

The MORI poll for the Mail on Sunday shows that 50 per cent of those questioned believe that if Prince Charles were to marry Ms Parker Bowles, he should still be allowed to become king.

That figure compares to 28 per cent willing to accept the idea a year ago.

In addition, 42 per cent said the Prince and Ms Parker Bowles should now continue their relationship in public, while 38 per cent said they believed they should be married.