Portrait of a princess...

Way back in late spring, I was seated with the talented artist Louis Briel at a political breakfast where Bill Richardson was the featured speaker. (This was pre-debate gaffes). Louis, who is based in L.A., told me about his work, including a portrait he had painted of Diana, princess of Wales, shortly after her death and gave to her close friend Elton John.
The portrait hung in Sir Elton's private dressing room and was said to have helped him cope with the loss.
Tomorrow marks the 10-year anniversary of the death of Diana in that horrible and senseless car crash in Paris. She was at the top of her game, had never looked better, and was doing some terrific work bringing awareness to the world about landmines.
Remember where you were when you heard?
I was vacuuming my apartment in the Long Beach neighborhood of Belmont Shore because I was hosting a party the next day. Instead of partying, my guests and I sat in my living room watching the endless reports of her death and reading the pile of newspapers I bought that morning. It just didn't seem real and in some ways, still doesn't.
Briel painted the portrait of the Princess to deal with the unexpected grief he was feeling. Days after finishing the portrait, he saw Elton on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was so touched by Elton's love for Diana, he gave the painting to the rock star.
Moved by the kind gesture, Elton sent a handwritten note to Briel thanking him: "I am going to take the canvas on tour with me, so that I can look at it each night before I go on stage. Then the portrait will be sent to my home in England. You are a very kind man and the gift is very much appreciated. Much love, Elton."
Elton took the portrait around the world with him on "The Big Picture Tour" in 1997-98, hanging It in his dressing room at every venue worldwide.
"When I met him, Elton said he would one day give the painting to the Princes William and Harry," Briel said in a newspaper interview. "I hope he will do so now. It would help heal them and come to terms with their mother's tragic death. It helped heal Elton, perhaps now it's time for him to give it to the Princes, who truly need it."
Briel's painting (www.louisbriel.com). is now featured in Diana In Art, by Mem Mehmet, a collection of portraits of the Princess from around the world. It is published by Pop Art Books.