On the eve of Princess Diana's funeral,

the royal family is returning to London, hoping perhaps

to quell some of the criticism of their actions

since Diana's death.

REPORTER: The queen's convoy arrived in London.

As it swept up to Buckingham Palace,

the limousine halted at the gates,

and the queen and Prince Philip got out to take

in the massive floral tributes.

INGRID SEWARD: The queen was actually extremely nervous

because she could feel the hostility,

and actually she heard people say,

ooh, about time you've come.

You know, they could hear an awful lot of things

that the crowds say.

And then I think a woman actually gave her

a bunch of flowers and said, "Would you

like me to place it for you?"

And the woman said, "No, ma'am, it's for you."

And that sort of broke the ice.

It was that moment.

And I think suddenly people saw her, instead of feeling

all prickly and angry, they suddenly thought,

my goodness, this is a grandmother,

and she's got to deal with all this.

REPORTER: Queen Elizabeth will speak

publicly today about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Joining me from London is NPR's Michael Goldfarb

to talk about the extraordinary move

by the queen to speak to her subjects.

Any idea what she will say today?

MICHAEL GOLDFARB: It will be a very carefully

crafted speech because people will listen

to it with great interest.

Since last Sunday's dreadful news,

we have seen throughout Britain and around the world

an overwhelming expression of sadness of Diana's death.

So what I say to you now as your queen and as a grandmother

I say from my heart.

First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself.

She was an exceptional and gifted human being.

In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity

to smile and laugh nor to inspire others

with her warmth and kindness.

I admired and respected her for her energy and commitment

to others.

I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever we are, join

in expressing our grief at Diana's loss and gratitude

for her all-too-short life.

I thought she said everything she should have said.

Can't think of anything that she left out at all.

It is completely appropriate.

REPORTER: And they're gathering now at the entrance.

This is an extraordinary view we're seeing here.

We've never, as far as I'm aware,

seen the royal family standing like this at the gates

of Buckingham Palace.

INGRID SEWARD: At the funeral, the queen was very dignified,

and she bowed her head when Diana's coffin went past.

And it was spectacularly done.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: I, for one, believe there are lessons to be

drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving

reaction to her death.

It is a chance to show to the whole world

the British nation united in grief and respect.