Queen bids to end rift

The Queen today paid tribute to Princess Diana in a historic speech, calling her a "remarkable human being".

She reached out to end the bitter rift between the royals and the Spencer family as she officially opened a £3million fountain in memory of the Princess.

And she spoke of how Diana's death rocked her own family, leaving them with an "extraordinary sense of shock, grief and sadness".

The unprecedented and hugely personal speech hinted at the division with the Spencer family which began when Earl Spencer spoke angrily at Diana's funeral seven years ago, attacking the Windsors. Today he stood a few feet away as she said: "Of course there were difficult times, but memories mellow with the passing of the years." She added: "I remember especially the happiness she gave to my two grandsons."

Earl Spencer welcomed the speech, saying later that the Queen's comments were "very generous and warm".

Princes William and Harry and their father Charles sat on a podium in Hyde Park as the Queen made the speech.

Watched by millions on television around the world and a crowd of several hundred well-wishers in the park, the Queen said Diana's legacy was the "extraordinary effect" she had upon those "in difficulty, hardship or distress".

She added: "I cannot forget - and nor can those of us here today who knew her much more personally, as sister, wife, mother, or daughter-in-law - the Diana who made such an impact on our lives.

"By any standard Diana's tragic death held the attention of the world. Central to this remains the extraordinary effect Diana had on those around her. Her drive to empathise with those in difficulty, hardship or distress, her willingness to embrace a new cause, her shrewd ability to size up all those she met, allowed her not only to touch people's lives but to change them. This is her wider legacy."

Significantly the Queen avoided discussing her own personal relations and difficulties with Diana.

However, one of the Queen's closest friends, Lady Kennard, said in a BBC documentary sanctioned by the Palace that Diana was "damaged". She also said that the Queen "did not get on with" Diana. Close sources said it would have been exceptional if the Queen had spoken publicly today about her relationship with the Princess.

The Queen greeted the Earl and Diana's sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes in a public show of warmth before taking centre stage at the podium. The seating plan was carefully organised to emphasise the new-found unity between the families. The Queen smiled as she declared the fountain open before she and Philip, Charles, William and Harry mingled with the crowd in the biggest royal walkabout since the Golden Jubilee in 2002.

Guests included Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who had forced the project on in the face of a series of rows.

Earl Spencer praised the design of the fountain, saying it would have had his sister's approval. "I very much like the design," he said. "I think she (Diana) would have loved it. It's a very clever design. It's inclusive." Playing down the bitterness between the two families, he added: "I can honestly say the rift thing has been very much overplayed. It never really needed healing."

Also at today's ceremony were representatives of many of the charities with which Diana was most associated, including anti-landmine groups, Aids campaigns and hospitals. The day ended years of controversy over the project, which had been completed behind schedule and £600,000 over budget. But the Queen went out of her way to praise the design of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain.

And she pointedly declared the memorial open on behalf of "Charles, William, Harry, and all my family and of all the Spencer family with us today".