Queen Elizabeth was globally criticized over her initial response to Diana’s death

The entire world was struck with grief upon the death of Princess Diana as she became a global icon during her short time as a royal.

And while her well-wishers and devotees all flocked to the palace with an overwhelming number of floral tributes for the late Princess of Wales, the anger against the British royal family also went through the roof, side by side.

The former in-laws of the late princess along with her ex-husband Prince Charles and sons, William and Harry, had all been vacationing in Balmoral when the unfortunate car crash took place on August 31, 1997.

Thousands of Diana’s admirers swamped the Buckingham Palace raging over the refusal of flying the Union flag at half-mast on Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II infuriated the crowd even more with her absence from London and for not mourning the death of Diana publicly.

It took ample pressure for the monarch to cave into the public’s demands and return to London from Balmoral.

After her arrival Her Majesty, dressed in black from head-to-toe, strolled through the floral tributes all around along with Prince Philip and later addressed the nation.

While many had been critical of the Queen for refusing to return to London, it was reported that the reason she had been hesitant was to protect her grandsons from the public attention at a time when they had just been struck with tragedy.

Author of The Diana Chronicles, Tina Brown had written in the book: "The Queen was adamant that her place was at Balmoral with her grieving grandsons. Everyone rallied around the young princes.”

"This was the first time in a long reign that the Queen was thinking about her family before her people. We should admire her for that. Her thoughts were with her grandchildren and she wasn't thinking about how this would be played out in the media."

She also revealed how the two brothers received constant support from their grandparents during their hour of grief: "Prince Philip took them walking, horse riding and fishing every day - anything to take their minds off the tragedy."

Royal commentator Alastair Bruce had said: "The royal family realised there were two young boys who had lost their mother. I don't think there's a human being alive who doesn't respond to that as an important thing."

While it was earlier refused that the Union flag would fly at half-mast, days later, the decision was reversed.