ABSTRACT
The Metropolitan Police, especially those responsible for the centre of London, are extremely familiar with large gatherings in public places of various kinds. The funeral of Princess Diana lacked most of the elements that give comfort to senior police officers: it was unexpected; suffused with uncertainties and ambiguities; open to public spontaneity; involved a complex set of powerful vested interests; and had to be concluded swiftly. Royal ceremonials are usually remarkably comfortable occasions for senior officers since they are exquisitely controlled. They are pre-planned with interested parties who share common goals to maintain the security and dignity of the occasion, and police are subject to few restrictions in imposing control over space and members of the public. The police operation was massive not only in size, but also complexity. From the police perspective this operation had all the hallmarks of disaster in the making: it was unexpected, ambiguous, unprecedented and they needed to compete with powerful vested interests for control.
