"I Thank God for the Gift of Diana": Her Mother

The mother of Princess Diana has spoken out for the first time since her daughter was killed in a Paris car crash early on Sunday morning.

In a handwritten note, Frances Shand-Kydd offered her "heartfelt thanks" for the sympathy she has received since Diana's death.

Mrs Shand-Kydd wrote: "I pray for her and the two men who died with her and for their families. I am so proud of William and Harry, and Diana's sisters, Sarah and Jane and her brother, Charles. I thank God for the gift of Diana and for all her loving and giving. I give her back to Him, with my love, pride and admiration to rest in peace."

Since Sunday, the 61-year old Mrs Shand-Kydd has remained at her home on the Isle of Seil, near Oban on the west coast of Scotland. On Wednesday, she left her home for Glasgow airport, on her way to Saturday's funeral in London. Witnesses said she was wearing black and looked tired and drawn.

Mrs Shand-Kydd married Diana's father, then Viscount Althorp, in 1954. They divorced in 1967, six years after Diana's birth.

A close friend of Mrs Shand-Kydd's, Father Roddy Johnson, said: "I think she doesn't want to see the work that Diana did disappearing and that she would like very much that it continues."