Letter: Lachrymose frenzy over Diana's death

Sir: The Independent appears to have forgotten its original policy of relegating royal affairs to the inside pages. Was it so entirely foolish? The media generally were bound to be distraught at the loss of a goose that had laid so many golden eggs but surely we could have asked for a degree more critical detachment from you?

After all, what is this fuss about? "Palace and people"? It's not a credible social description of anything found outside Grimm's fairy tales. "Landmines and Aids"? Let's quit the pretence. This was a soap opera, which was prematurely interrupted before the ratings began to fall.

True, the House of Windsor is distinctly upmarket from its pre-scripted Hollywood clones, and, yes, it was a "real" soap, insofar as the worlds of hereditary monarchy, paparazzi and international glitterati are real to the other 99.9 per cent of the population. But still it was a soap, a media product adapted for mass consumption. That and only that makes the loss of this one life matter more than any other.

PETER GHOSH

St Anne's College, Oxford