Twelve Years and a family of conspiracy theorists

Today is the 12th anniversary of Princess Diana's death in Paris. While of course I am fascinated by both death and celebrity, this date is particularly evocative for me. My nan was a Diana fanatic, collecting the books, the photos, the collector edition plates and mugs, the whole lot. Many a discussion at my grandparents house in the last 12 years has centered around conspiracy theories involving Lady Di's demise (or, if you ask my father, "staged demise")

Its generally agreed upon that she perished due to unlucky circumstances involving paparazzi, and a drunken chauffeur, so how can I, born of this Diana-loving clan, rationalize my love for celebrity gossip? I tell myself its all part of their job, its inevitable that being famous is now more than ever about constant media presence. If I can go on facebook and find out which of my friends just took a dump, got dumped or dumped a load of money at the bar, doesnt it follow that I would want to know the same about my favourite celebs? Still the intellectual in me still hopes its just a phase.

P.S. Last I heard, Lady Di was on a remote island somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Its a nice thought.