Remembered for her charisma, her social actions and for establishing herself as a fashion icon, Diana Frances SpencerMore known as Diana, Princess of Walesand until today remembered for its legacy – and not just in the UK, but around the world.
when he married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981 at St. Paul Cathedral, in LondonLady Di took on a number of royal duties and among them were official visits to other countries and nations.
And it was 31 years ago, on April 22, 1991, 22 years after Queen Elizabeth II set foot in Brazil oncewhich Diana did the same.
THE “people’s princess” landed in the capital Brasília alongside Charles, who was making his second visit to the country, to accompany him on an agenda summarized by meetings on environmental preservation.
But she did not follow her husband in all his commitments and ended up visiting several charities dedicated to children – a fact that moved the Brazilian people and all the media at the time. Her passage through the country was even known for being another opportunity for Diana to break some protocols.
In all, the couple stayed five days in Brazil and Diana did not miss visiting some Brazilian attractions known around the world, such as the Christ the Redeemerat the Rio de Janeiroand the waterfalls of Iguaçu, in Foz do Iguaçu. Remember all the cities that Lady Di visited when she was here:
Brasília (DF) and Carajás (PA)
Charles and Diana landed in the capital during the night of April 22 on board a British Airways plane. The following morning, Charles met with Fernando Collor, president of Brazil at the time, and Diana was welcomed by the then First Lady Rosane Collor at the headquarters of the Legião Brasileira de Assistência, the defunct public assistance body that helped the families of soldiers sent to World War II. world.
the couple left Brasilia same day for a quick visit to the Carajás Project in Southeast Paráin parauapebas – a city of more than 200,000 inhabitants that is located in Serra dos Carajás, considered the largest mineral province on the planet.
The mineral exploration project was started in the 1970s and 1980s by Vale and also included lands in the north of Tocantins and southwest of Maranhão, a region considered one of the richest on Earth in terms of the amount of ore.
After visiting a deposit, the couple went to the Vale Zoobotanical Park, which still exists today and is located within the Carajás National Forest in Parauapebas. Occupying 30 preserved hectares, the park is home to native species of Amazonian fauna and flora.
According to Vale, today the park has free admission and is open to the public daily, with a zoo, veterinary hospital, orchid nursery, herbarium, collections room, auditorium, exhibition area and environmental education room.
It was in the park that Charles and Diana planted a chestnut tree. Fun fact: about three decades later, the tree bore its first fruits and is still marked as planted by the former royal couple.
After the visit to Carajás, both returned to Brasília, where, at night, they were received at the Itamaraty Palace for a reception – currently, the palace can be known through public and educational visits.
Sao Paulo-SP)
On April 24, the couple left for a quick visit to São Paulo, where Charles followed engagements at a forum while Diana visited the British school. St. Paul’s, in the Jardins region – located on Juquiá street since 1928. The same school, which is considered bicultural and bilingual, was visited by Queen Elizabeth II in her passing through the city more than two decades before.
At lunch they were received by the then governor Luiz Antônio Fleury Filho at the Bandeirantes Palacethe official residence of the governor of São Paulo in the neighborhood of Morumbi, which today is also open for visits. It is worth mentioning that Queen Elizabeth II, alongside Prince Phillip, was also received on site in 1968.
During the afternoon, the Princess went to a unit of the former State Foundation for the Welfare of Minors (Febem). It was there that one of the most memorable moments of her passage in Brazil took place: Diana carried an HIV-positive child in her arms, a photo passed around the world and another important moment in her fight against the stigmatization of HIV.
After the commitments, it was the couple’s turn to board an aircraft again and head to Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro – RJ)
At Wonderful city, the agenda was a little more hectic and some tourist spots in the city were visited. The couple stayed at the iconic Copacabana Palaceon Copacabana beach, and drew a crowd to the front of the luxury hotel.
It was even in the hotel pool that some of the most famous photos of the Princess were taken: the paparazzi captured the moment when she was swimming there very early in the morning. Diana ended up noticing the movement of photographers in other buildings and decided to get out of the pool.
Among the points visited, from the 24th to the 26th of April 1991, is the City Palace, the workplace of the mayor of Rio, which is located in Botafogo and which had already been the UK embassy in the city – there, the couple watched a samba school parade. THE Municipal Theaterbuilt in 1909 in Cinelândia, also received Diana, where the Princess watched a dance performance by Grupo Corpo.
In keeping with her schedule, she also visited the ward for HIV-positive patients in the Hospital Clementino Fraga Filhoon Fundão Island, and the children of St. Martin’s Benevolent Association, in the center of Rio.
One of the symbols of Brazil and also of Rio de Janeiro in the world was one of the main tourist attractions visited by the Princess during her visit here: the Christ the Redeemerwhere he posed for photos and admired the unique landscape of the Atlantic and other postcards, such as the Lagoa Rodrigo de FreitasThe Sugar LoafThe Maracanã it’s the Tijuca Massif.
Iguazu Falls (PR)
On the same day of her last stay in Rio de Janeiro, on April 26, Diana took a plane and went to see the waterfalls of Iguaçu, in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná. Considered a Natural Heritage of Humanity, the falls are part of both the brazilian parkopened in 1939, and the Argentinean park, across the border, opened in 1934.
At waterfalls of Iguaçu as a whole are formed by 275 falls in an area of more than 250 thousand hectares of subtropical forest. On the Brazilian side, the Devil’s Throat Walkway it is one of the most popular spots, from where you have a panoramic view of the great falls.
The park is open to tourists daily, except on Mondays. Brazilian individuals from 12 years old pay R$ 63 – the value increases to R$ 107 for foreigners outside Mercosur.
Belém (PA)
Belém was Diana’s last stop on national soil before she left the country again. In the capital of Pará, which holds the See-o-Peso Marketgives Docks station It’s from Theater of Peacethe then Princess did not attend any agenda or event.
In the afternoon, she met Charles, who had attended a seminar on ecology, and returned to England on April 27 in a striking red dress.
Source: CNN Brasil
