After four years in the making, the official Princess Diana statue, commissioned by Prince William and Prince Harry, has finally been unveiled to the public. In the past four years, a lot has happened in the Royal Family, but one thing remains, the love and admiration Diana’s sons have towards their mother and their will to carry on with her legacy.
The project was proposed in January 2017 and was originally planned to be unveiled later that August to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her tragic passing. However, plans had to be moved, and after years without any confirmation, last year it was announced the official date would take place today, in what would’ve marked Princess Diana’s 60th birthday.
“It has been twenty years since our mother’s death and the time is right to recognize her positive impact in the UK and around the world with a permanent statue.”
There’s already a statue honoring Princess Diana in the Harrods department store in London. The statue features Diana and her partner Dodi Fayed, who died on the same accident with her, and was commissioned by Dodi’s father after their passing. The infamous statue was named ‘Innocent Victims’ and it was unveiled in 2005, but it was deemed as tacky and sort of disrespectful for Diana’s memory.
Now, this official statue is located at the Sunken Garden at Kensington Gardens, a place that was one of Princess Di’s favorite spots in London and that has been turned into her memorial. The statue has now make this memorial official, and despite the current feud between her sons, they’ve decided to carry on with the ceremony to honor their mother.
Prince Harry flew back to the UK this past Friday to be in time for the event and supervise last-minute details. He hadn’t come back since his grandfather’s funeral, Prince Philip, last April. According to a close source of the princes, on that occasion, both brothers only discussed the topic of the statue, and although didn’t solve their problems, they seem to have put aside their differences to give their mother the perfect ceremony.
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, stayed in their Los Angeles residency with their children, Archie and Lilibet Diana who was just born this past June . According to sources, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, didn’t attend either since the number of attendants was reduced due to the Covid-19 current lockdown in the UK.
Another Royal who deliberately missed the unveiling of Princess Diana’s statue is her former husband, Prince Charles. According to a close source, these events related to Diana tend to resurface their dark past, and it’s not in his plans to tarnish the event with those memories. In fact, since her passing, one year after their divorce, the Prince of Wales has decided to step back from all events regarding Diana and leave them entirely to their sons.
Harry and William were joined by some of Diana’s close family and friends. Also attending were the statue committee, Ian Rank Broadley -the sculptor who’s also the author of Queen Elizabeth’s silhouette adoring British coins since 1998-, and Pip Morrison, designer of the Sunken Garden.
Both Prince William and Prince Harry put their differences behind for a moment to host this emotional event. William and Kate’s official Twitter account uploaded an image of the statue an added a heartfelt message signed by both William and Harry:
“Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy.”
The statue portrays Princess Diana with two children remembering her past as a devoted kindergarden teacher but also the love and caring she showed towards childhood through her humanitarian work. This statue is truly a representation of Diana’s legacy.
Read more:
The Sad Reason Why Princess Diana Always Wore Short Hair
20 Curious Facts About Queen Elizabeth II That Will Blow Your Mind
