20 November

Today's the day when in 1995 Princess Diana appeared in a TV interview and spoke openly about her separation from the Prince of Wales. Interviewed by Martin Bashir on Panorama, she famously said that she would like to be a queen of people's hearts but she did not see herself becoming Queen of this country. Admitting that she had been unfaithful to Prince Charles, she also spoke of his extra-marital affair saying, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

These unusually frank and personal remarks from a member of the Royal Family shocked the nation and evoked considerable sympathy for Princess Diana. The failure of the royal marriage caused genuine sadness to millions of people. Day by day we meet people who are themselves going through real troubles, whether it’s the breakdown of relationships or other serious difficulties. It’s easy to think, "that’s your problem, not mine" but in Galatians the Bible encourages us to listen and get involved in each other's problems. It says:

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.

What’s more, we can trust our problems to God’s care and show others that God can lift the weight from their shoulders in a way we never can. This is just what the writer of Psalm 68 is celebrating when he says:

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour,
who daily bears our burdens.