CBS/AP/ February 11, 2009, 4:37 PM

Old And New Mix At Concert For Diana

Waving their arms in the air with 70,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, princes William and Harry celebrated the life of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 46th birthday Sunday at a concert they organized.

William, 25, rocked his hips as Canadian pop star Nelly Furtado belted out her song "Maneater" — to the embarrassment of younger brother Harry, 22, who shook his head and laughed.

After Elton John opened the show with "Your Song," the princes took to the stage to greet the stadium crowd — and 500 million more watching the event live worldwide in 140 countries.

"This evening is about all that my mother loved in life: her music, her charity and her family and friends," William said. Harry added a special message for his army unit, currently serving in Iraq.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to say hi to all the guys in A Squadron of the Household Cavalry, who are serving out in Iraq at the moment.

"I wish I was there with you. I'm sorry I can't be. But to all of those on operations at the moment, we'd both like to say 'Stay safe."'

Harry, a second lieutenant in the regiment, was banned from going to Iraq for security reasons.

Photos: Concert for Diana
The princess died Aug. 31, 1997, along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver when their Mercedes crashed inside the Pont d'Alma tunnel, while media photographers pursued them.

2The memorial concert featured music from 24 acts including some of Diana's favorites, like Tom Jones, and younger performers Kanye West, Joss Stone, Fergie, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Lily Allen.

Combs performed an emotive rendition of "Missing You" - a cover of The Police's 1983 "Every Breath You Take."

"Ten years ago Princess Diana, she went to a better place, and today we celebrate her rebirth," Combs said. "I love you Diana, we miss you."

The old and new merged during Jones' set when he brought Stone on to sing a soulful duet of "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" while Aerosmith's Joe Perry sat in on guitar.

Ex-British prime minister Tony Blair was among those who recorded a video greeting. His message was booed as he appeared on screen, but the crowd cheered when he paid tribute to William and Harry — the second and third in line to the British throne, respectively.

"I know their mother would be very proud of them," Blair said.

Weeks of soggy weather lifted Sunday as the sun peeked out from behind the gray clouds rolling over Wembley Stadium, Britain's biggest.

"Pray for sun!" Duran Duran lead singer Simon LeBon told the crowd as the band broke into "Sunrise," followed by "Rio," which they dedicated to Diana.

Rod Stewart also joked about the weather at the end of his set, saying "it usually rains when I perform. Well done!"

Prince William and Prince Harry enjoyed the performance surrounded by their friends. According to VH1, the princes had more potential guests than they had complimentary seats, so they put the names of all their potential guests into a hat and drew the names of the lucky ones that would get tickets.

Harry's girlfriend Chelsy Davy was at his side. William was dateless - though his ex, Kate Middleton, was in the crowd and, according to some in the know, maybe back in the picture, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Roth.

William's Clarence House office has declined to comment on media reports that the two are back together.

Tickets for the show were $90, and proceeds benefited the Princess Diana Memorial and Patronage Fund; Centrepoint UK of which Prince William is a royal patron; and Sentebale, a new charity founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso to help vulnerable children in the African country.

Photos: Backstage With The Princes
During the telecast, short segments called "Diana and Me" were aired in between the performances. Each segment featured different people from photographers to beneficiaries of her charity work, talking about their personal encounters with the princess.

Security for the event was increased after the discovery of two unexploded car bombs in central London on Friday and an attack on Glasgow airport on Saturday that involved a Jeep Cherokee slamming into the main terminal and bursting into flames.


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5 Comments Add a Comment
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lady66 says:
Iam proud of Prince william and prince harry. with so much garbage about their mother going on. They chose to remember the good she done. Their mother would be proud of her boys.
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missut2 says:
The concert was wonderful...great memories of Diana throughout. William and Harry look so much like her. She would be so proud of them and the men they have become. This was a fitting way for them to honor Diana on her birthday.

Diana was the Princess of Wales, but she was also claimed by the World as it's Princess...She is still beloved and sorely missed. Diana has a very special place in history and will never be forgotten. In her short time as Princess, she left a legacy that Queen Elizabeth could never be able to touch. The world lost a shining star when it lost Diana.

Thanks to Prince William and Prince Harry for sharing this celebration of your Mother with us.
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barbaraf4 says:
Diana would be so proud of her boys. They have turned out just like she wanted - none of that stuffy royalty garbage.
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konabike says:
Great show! The boys did a great job to honor their mother.
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cmp271 says:
Long Live Diana.

She will never be forgotten, and remembered well in history, especially as the one Princess who the Queen bowed to, finally, at the end. I will always remember the BBC playing God Save the Queen for her that night when they announced she was gone, before anyone could stop them from playing it for her, she truly was a Queen.

No one can ever replace her and her boys need to follow more in her footsteps and be who they need to really be and not what the royal machine thinks they should be. They are everyone's sons who cared about her, as I consider them my own too. (That red hair IS from the milkman-lol).

Good for them doing this for their Mother, she taught them well!!!

Let's hope they read our comments here too!!!
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