As far as identification with Princess Diana is concerned, women liked Diana's style; many of them were mothers, and most have had issues around food and slimming (Coleman, nd). Countless women go through the similar experiences to Diana's - bad relationships, career dilemmas, slimming problems, family dramas, issues of how women present themselves to the world. Diana inspires women, especially those seeking treatment in bulimia treatment resource centers, because like them she was only human and reportedly struggled with an eating disorder. More than that, it is also to do with learning to be assertive. "[Diana] struck a high note for women everywhere when she refused to be lied to, put down or silenced." "People thought of her as a beautiful soul with a loving heart, who performed many good deeds while on earth - a bright light in a kingdom of darkness."

Celebrities therefore have considerable power to influence public opinion and the values of society, not necessarily for the worse.

Despite the widespread opinion that celebrity worship is hollow and phoney and that we have no real hero figures to look up to in the media/entertainment world, there are some figures whose fame persists after, and is even enhanced by, their death.

If fans can feel an "intense personal" association with living celebrities, what sort of relationship do they have with dead celebrities? Some sort of necrophilia? This is a difficult question which worries a good number people and results in the frequent but ineffectual taunt "Elvis is dead - get a life".

It is only after death that apotheosis can occur. After death, adulation is intensified; the good qualities of the idols are stresed and their human frailties overlooked or downplayed. Overall, the sort of celebrity adulation associated with Elvis Presley and Princess Diana can be attributed to a specific combination of factors (Reimer, nd):

In a recent paper this writer (MacDougall 2004) suggested that Elvis's story resonates within us because it fits Joseph Campbell's archetypal "myth of the hero" in more than one way - the flawed hero, the fairytale prince, the wounded king, and the superhero.

If we compare Princess Diana to the archetypes, more parallels emerge. According to the National Review (1997), she was a flawed, beautiful, wilful, well-meaning woman who went from fairy-tale romance through modernity's prosaic discontents to the climax of a death borrowed from grand opera:

"What explains the extraordinary outpouring of grief at the death of Princess Diana? Diana's photogenic beauty? Not alone, surely: there are other women as lovely or lovelier. Her good works? But Mother Teresa, whose life was devoted to others, received respect rather than adoration in death. That she was a wronged woman, Diana the Sad? But Mrs. Clinton, much more wronged, does not evoke this response. That we felt we knew her? Warmer. She did pour out her heart to us via television. But maybe the answer is all of these -- crystallised and made more poignant by her death."

The editor makes these comparisons with archetypes:

Elvis Presley and Princess Diana, then, were the fairytale prince and the fairytale princess who became famous, suffered loneliness at the top, had relationship problems, weight or eating problems and died tragically young. They were both insecure, sensitive, vulnerable people who loved much and needed a great deal of love. Their particular stories, and the fact that they were empathetic and caring people, struck a deep chord within their respective fan bases.

As with saints, one way of being close to one's heroes is to own part of them or something they once owned - relics, in other words. For Roman Catholics, the three classes of relics are ("Relics and incorruptibles", nd): 1st Class - a part of the Saint (bone, hair, etc.) and the instruments of Christ's passion; 2nd Class - something owned by the Saint or instruments of torture used against a martyr; 3rd Class - something that has been touched to a 1st or 2nd Class Relic.

The novelist Kathryn Harrison (Winter, 1998), in a recent magazine article about the appeal of relics, spans a wide range of relic-collecting, from Achilles’ spear in the Temple of Athena at Phaselis to Babe Ruth’s glove at the Baseball Hall of Fame;  and from the enshrined body of St. Francis Xavier, who died in 1522 (two of whose toes have been bitten off, apparently by overzealous pilgrims) to a chamber pot once used by Franklin D Roosevelt (as displayed at Yale University’s Beinecke Collection);  then on to Elvis Presley’s used Selektronic razor and the bathroom sink from John Lennon’s apartment, both offered to collectors for large sums of money by Guernsey’s auction house in New York.  Harrison notes that "who we consider holy changes over the centuries; what we want from them has not".

As Harrison pointed out, vast sums are often paid at auction.  Being able to bid large amounts for relics indicates a fair degree of practical worldly success on the part of the bidders.  Yet the very size of the bids also indicates the depth of the bidder’s yearning to be near, in even a small way, to a "great presence."  At what point does this yearning become worshipful?

Pieces of Elvis offered for sale have included a wart, tooth, toenail and hair clippings. Other objects, such as the crucifix he wore or cups he drank from, have become collectibles. The writer was unable to find Diana relics on eBay, although there were numerous photographs, books, commemorative stamps and plates, and an Italian charm. Diana's dresses have been on display in Toronto. The rosary which Mother Theresa gave Diana seems to be one object which can be viewed as a special relic of Diana (Cameron, nd).

The extreme outpourings of grief at the deaths of Elvis Presley and Princess Diana and the collection of relics contain elements of god worship. For Presley, the association with sacred places and sacred dates has often been pointed out - the pilgrimage to Graceland during Elvis Week around August 16th and to his birth place in Tupelo.

Diana, too, has her sacred places (her gravesite and the memorial built by her brother at Althorp House, as well as the traffic tunnel in Paris where she died), to which pilgrims travel on the anniversary of her death at the end of August and leave offerings, and the text on her grave marker ("Whenever you call to me, I will come to your aid") appears to promise that she will come to the aid of those in need (Reimer, nd). A trip to such a sacred site, made for devotion and planned to coincide with a sacred time, becomes more pilgrimage than tourism. On the eighth anniversary of Diana's death, August 31st 2005, press reports talk about a "handful" of fans gathering. But there are a good number of web sites in her honour.

Legends grow around the hero or heroine which become a sort of divine truth, not subject to verification or falsification; it cannot be contradicted by mere facts (Reimer, nd). There are even stories of miracles: pilgrims to Graceland leave messages thanking Elvis for aid, etc.

The earliest expressions of saints' cults were gatherings at graves, where one was thought to come into spiritual communion with the dead and share something of the divine grace imparted by God to the saint. The parallels between this and modern popular veneration of celebrity saints are obvious (Reimer, nd).

We grow up on fairy tales. These attitudes are embedded in our culture. Reimer points out that such ancient narrative and ritual patterns are so deeply embedded even in our supposedly secular culture that we find ourselves re-enacting rituals although, as a culture, we have for the most part deliberately disavowed the mythical belief systems which underlie them.

The number of people making the pilgrimage on Princess Diana's anniversary is dwindling. It is unclear whether her story and appeal will kindle a new generation of devoted fans. On the other hand, Cameron (nd) sees Diana as having taken on mythical and archetypal resonance after her death, which might in fact signal the beginnings of a new religious movement. He quotes Bryan Cowan responding to Project Blue Moonbeam with these words:

"Actually, disregarding the really weird parts of this, there is a distinct possibility that a Diana religion will emerge over the next fifty years. As one British journalist said, this is bigger than Marilyn Monroe, bigger than JFK, bigger than Elvis. In the case of Elvis, small groups that worship him have already emerged. But Diana has a lot more going for her - not only did she die in her prime, but her compassion and generosity were well known, and it was even rumoured that she had healing powers. Over the next fifty years prophets who claim to have been in contact with Diana will emerge with a message that they continue my work on earth. Reports of miracles performed by Diana will blossom. First hundreds, then thousands, then millions will be drawn to the new Diana religion. These people will view Diana as the daughter of God, sent to Earth to pave the way for the new millennium. The new religion will be a form of goddess worship, with women taking all the important roles. Within 100 years Dianaism will be a serious threat to Christian dominance of the Western world. 100 years after that it may very well be the dominant religion in the Western world."

Cowan was presumably unaware of Elvis's own reputed compassion, generosity and healing powers. Moreover, Elvis Presley has an extra dimension which makes him a long-lasting phenomenon with wide-spread appeal - his legacy of recorded music across a large range of genres. His music still creates new generations of fans. Music is a powerful medium for influencing people. Elvis's intensity and charisma come through in studio recordings, while recordings of Las Vegas concerts reveal his human side - his wit, and humour as he interacts with his audiences. It is possible that those who empathise most with him have listened to the very sad songs recorded in 1975. He turned 40 that year; he had lost his looks, his figure and his health; his second long-term personal relationship was either finishing or over, and he felt that his career had been stultified and was going nowhere. But Elvis wore his heart on his sleeve much of the time. There are plenty of earlier songs which could create empathy.

Both Elvis and Diana suffered considerably during their lifetimes. The fact that they were vulnerable, flawed human beings who poured out their hearts made them easier to identify with than if they had been more perfect and remote.

Charismatic leadership can result in new religious movements, and is often associated with dynamic and volatile religious phenomena and with profound and sudden transformations of a spiritual milieu (Enclycopedia of Religion and Society, nd). Charismatic leaders generally arise in unsettled times when there is disorienting sociocultural change. New sects and cults may grow around these leaders. Some cults survive after their leaders' death, develop into new religious movements, and become instutionalised; others do not, and some end in disaster.

That both Elvis Presley and Princess Diana had charmisa is evident. Neither of them set themselves up as religious leaders, although Presley would like to have been a preacher. If any definite cults, sects or religious movements are forming around these figures, it is a posthumous phenomenon.

Everyone needs something to believe in and identify with. No one believes in nothing. Many of us may say we are atheists, but we nevertheless have value systems based in our cultural upbringing, which includes religious attitudes, fairy tales and blockbuster movies and epics incorporating the myth of the hero. These days we may follow movie stars, athletes and entertainers with close interest. Some of us may carry out a ritualistic sort of celebrity worship. But most of us are somewhere between the "entertainment social" and "intense personal" stages on Houran's celebrity attitude scale. Many individuals, apparently, identify with Presley or Diana and internalise their attitudes and values.

When it comes to veneration, both Presley and Diana are perceived, not so much as vacuous, self-seeking celebrities, but more as heroes with higher values who tried to achieve something for the good of humanity.

In the end, despite differences of birth, Elvis Presley and Princess Diana have a lot in common. They are much loved for their perceived good qualities which far outweigh any personal flaws. More than that, both had considerable personal charisma which apparently can still appeal to people today because their images are perpetuated through modern technnology. Its influence may or may not diminish over time. Presley's legacy of recorded music and performances has the capacity to prolong his charismatic influence. Enigma is arguably the most important factor keeping them in the spotlight, fuelling endless debate. Where the current veneration will lead depends on public perceptions and depth of feeling.