A new religious cult launched on the Internet has taken the phenomenon of Diana-tack plunging to new depths.
Forget Diana dolls, Diana margarine and Diana scented candles; these are minor errors in taste compared to the recently-established Church of Diana, which comes complete with its own bible - apparently dictated by the princess from beyond the grave.
Set up by Richard Yao, a graduate of Yale University's divinity school, the movement was inspired by a series of dreamlike visitations from the princess who demanded (he says) that he relay her messages and prophecies.
Mr Yao is using the Internet to recruit more members to add to the core of 7,000 who have already expressed their support, and to advertise the as yet unpublished bible - Diana Speaks. Alongside a variety of spiritual revelations, the book promises to disclose the truth about the Paris car crash and how the Princess conquered her eating disorders.
Chairman Yao (a title he says he adopted at Diana's suggestion) gave up a lucrative career as a Wall Street lawyer last November when, three months after her death, the princess appeared to him. She said: "I want to talk to the people who came out for me. I want to say thanks for the millions who believed in me, the people who cried for me. I want to give them love and hope and healing."
According to the preface, she has a bemusing variety of advice to offer her supporters. Diana Speaks (subtitled The Uncensored Messages from the People's Princess) will reveal "whether AIDS will return to haunt the US and Western nations, how turmoil in the Asian market will affect Wall Street, how to conquer obesity". Recruits will be also given Diana's advice on "how to stay young, slim, healthy and beautiful - forever".
The emergence of the sect will not surprise the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, who has recently voiced his concerns about the growing `cult of Diana'. "We should be careful that she is not worshipped," he warned. "Any worship should be directed to the God who created her."
PA adds: Lord Camoys, the Lord Chamberlain, has put forward a compromise in the wrangle over plans for a Diana, Princess of Wales, memorial garden outside her former home, Kensington Palace in central London.
The head of the Queen's Household has submitted a proposal for the garden to be further north of Kensington Palace. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said a report that senior members of the royal family were behind attempts to block creation of the memorial garden was "absolute fantasy".