Princess Diana Opens St Ann's Shopping Centre 1987

Central Harrow sees a huge infrastructural shift - a brand new shopping centre - with the help of the popular and charismatic Princess Diana.

This documentary captures the excitement of the day that Princess Diana came to open the St Anns Shopping Centre. The film begins with a then-and-now style look at the indoor shopping centre and pedestrianised street which began construction in the autumn of 1987. Various shots of the crowds and commotion awaiting the Princess of Wales capture Diana’s undeniable public appeal - and nothing outlines her popularity more than a shot of a little girl handing her a bouquet.

This film is from the collection of Headstone Manor Museum, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.