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LONDON — Sophia Ellis, a London mother of two, remembers exactly where she was when she heard that Princess Diana had died.

"My husband and I were at a wedding and staying in a hotel, and I remember that at breakfast the owner told everyone what had happened," she said.

"We absolutely didn't believe him. I was just so incredibly shocked."

"I cried every day for a week," she said.

Like millions of fellow Britons and Diana fans worldwide, Ellis expects to feel fresh sadness this summer.

A major concert is being staged today at Wembley Stadium by Princes William and Harry in honor of their mother.

As the world gets set to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Diana's death Aug. 31, there will be no shortage of books, films and media events to mark the occasion.

But the Diana deluge is just one aspect of a year that's already being characterized by anniversary fever.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Grace's death, the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, the 30th anniversary of the airing of the groundbreaking TV mini- series "Roots," the 30th anniversary of the premiere of "Star Wars," the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking of baseball's color barrier and the 70th anniversary of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.

Evocative memories of these cultural milestones are stoked by the media, especially cable television and the Internet, which are always hungry for content in a 24-hour news cycle.

It is not a phenomenon unique to America.

In Britain, the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict was observed with a plethora of special TV programs over the past few weeks. The war was also remembered with parades, news articles and a new memorial called the Falklands Arch that was officially opened by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

David Wolfe, creative director at Doneger Group, a fashion and merchandise-trend consulting firm in New York, said anniversaries are important because they give people the chance to slow down and reflect instead of always racing ahead and thinking about the future.

"The anniversaries of Diana's death ... and Elvis' are reminders that mark time," he said. "Even the fashion industry is anniversary-prone right now what with Christian Dior marking 60 years of business and Valentino marking 45 years."

Today would have been Princess Diana's 46th birthday.

William and Harry have been involved in planning the events that will mark the anniversary of their mother's death in a 1997 Paris car crash.

They have organized an official memorial service on Aug. 31 that will be attended by 500 people, including Diana's brother, Earl Spencer; Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla; and Queen Elizabeth II.