The Church of Ireland Primate yesterday praised Princess Diana as an inspiration and said she was a woman who typified a new generation and dared to confront conformity.
Speaking at a special thanksgiving service for the princess in St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast, attended by more than 1,000 people, Dr Robin Eames said Diana had challenged the social conscience with her involvement in charity.
She had dared "to pose questions about the life of the establishment which will undoubtedly have ripples for many years".
People had seen the many faces of Diana and a generation of young people identified and recognised those different faces, he added.
"She sought love, she cried out to be wanted, she begged to be taken seriously. In all of it, people identified with a real person, who despite the privileges, faced many similar problems."
The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Mr Alban Maginness of the SDLP, read the first lesson. The Queen of England's representative in Northern Ireland, the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, Lt Col Elliott Wilson, also attended, as did four ministers from the Northern Ireland Office - Mr Paul Murphy, Mr Adam Ingram, Mr Tony Worthington and Lord Dubs. Others present included the Chief Constable of the RUC, Mr Ronnie Flanagan; Gen John de Chastelain, one of the talks chairmen; and the second in command of the British Army in Northern Ireland, Brig Robin Brims.
The Dean of St Anne's Cathedral, the Very Rev Jack Shearer, led the service. Dr Eames, who gave the sermon, thanked God "for the inspiration that Diana was to so many who we often refer to as the forgotten people of this world".
He said he felt her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, were "the real victims of this tragedy".
Dr Eames believed it would be a disservice to Diana to create an idol of her. He said the love and concern she showed should not be wasted.
"She of all people would have wanted action as well as remembrance. Will the conscience of the world now look again at the needs of the refugees, the casualties of war, the landmines?"
Dr Eames concluded by saying the princess was at rest and that "in the eternal spectrum of God, we must now place things in perspective. Vision, need, want, injustice and the forgotten are more important than even the individuals who bring such to our notice".
During the sermon, Dr Eames also paid tribute to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who he said, had "brought to the attention of the world the cries of want and ignorance".
In Derry, where over 6,000 people have signed the book of condolence in St Columb's Church of Ireland Cathedral, many of the city's dignitaries attended a service of commemoration there yesterday.
The Rev Keith G. Barry, the Dean's Vicar, said Diana was finally free from the intrusive gaze of an inquisitive world.
"We all possess a flame of love within us, most of us guard it jealously, sharing it with few others, afraid of the consequences of spreading it more widely," he said.
"Diana, Princess of Wales, did not keep the flame to herself. She shared it abroad and with it lit up and exposed to our view and our conscience those who hovered around the boundaries of our social vision, those who sat in darkness, uncared for by our love."
On Saturday morning, the SDLP Mayor of Derry, Cllr Martin Bradley, and the city's DUP Deputy Mayor, Alderman Joe Miller, jointly laid a wreath at the cenotaph in the Diamond before observing a two-minute silence in memory of the late princess.