The "20-something" responses to the death of Princess Diana have been a major surprise. Polls consistently show young people in this age group are least interested in preserving royalty, yet -- as reactions from writers under the age of 25 make clear -- some aspects of her life struck a particular resonance for them. Katherine Kim has reported from Korea and Cambodia and now writes for Channel A.Com.

Without meaning to, I have been following the life of Diana since her "fairy-tale wedding." I was ten years old when she married Prince Charles -- I remember clipping a photograph of the Royal Couple on a balcony -- it represented notions of royalty and love that my ten-year old self firmly believed in.

And through the years, it was hard to ignore her life while keeping in touch with the rest of the world. I saw photos of her in the gym. I knew about her bulimia. Even the story of Prince William passing her the toilet paper underneath the bathroom door -- I read that and nodded, ah yes, isn't Wills such a sweet boy?

I wondered why I knew so much about this woman, the Royal Family -- and how much of it is true, how much is fabrication, elaboration? Diana will be immortalized now, as Grace Kelly was. Her death will affect women of my generation because she became famous while our own consciences were awakening, and her private life unraveled as we matured. A friend remarked, "It's strange to know so much about someone you don't know. I don't know how to feel about her death, because it's like I knew her."

Some may be unhappy that she will be immortalized with qualities such as victimhood, innocence and maternity.

There is a perverse element in her death -- the voracious appetite of the "audience." I, myself, am not innocent of this. I don't necessarily want to see photos of the wrecked Mercedes, but I have been following this story closely. Even as they agree that her death sends a message imploring the media and the public to reexamine their practices and appetites, everyone will follow this story, as they did the rest of her life.

There's a $1 million bounty for photos of the crash site. Photographers surrounded the hospital, and will surely land like vultures at her funeral. And everyone will watch with more interest, with more pity, than ever before.