WILLIAM AND HARRY
THE BROTHERS REUNITE AT KENSINGTON PALACE TO UNVEIL A STATUE IN HER HONOUR
‘Every day, we wish she were still with us and our hope is this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and legacy’
They had long wished for a permanent memorial to their beloved mother Diana, Princess of Wales. So for the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, it was no doubt a bittersweet moment as they finally stood together before her statue in a space she had loved so much.
In a poignant joint statement issued to mark the occasion, they said: “Today, on what would have been our mother’s 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character – qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better.
“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.”
More than four years in the making, the sculpture was unveiled on a warm summer afternoon in the tranquil surroundings of Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden, one of the Princess’s favourite places.
POIGNANT POSE
Cast in bronze with a blue-green patina over black, the figure shows Diana alongside three young children, one of them, a girl, holding the Princess’s hand to her cheek. A spray of lilies lies behind them.
While it is not based on any particular moment from her life, the pose is reminiscent of Diana’s encounters with children during visits to countries such as Bosnia and Angola, where she campaigned to end the scourge of landmines in the months before her death.
Beneath the statue is a plinth engraved with Diana’s name, the date 1 July and the inscription: “Unveiled by her sons.”
In front lies a paving stone engraved with an extract from the poem The Measure of A Man,
which appeared in the programme for the 2007 memorial service for the Princess.
It reads:
“These are the units to measure the worth
Of this woman as a woman regardless of birth
Not what was her station?
But had she a heart?
How did she play her God-given part?”
Amid fevered speculation as to how the brothers would appear after the last few months of difficulties in their relationship, Princes William, 39, and Harry, 36, were in good spirits as they entered the garden side by
side. According to a lip reader, William said of the statue: “Oh my, this is amazing,” while Harry added: “This is spectacular.”
They were joined by their maternal aunts and uncle, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Lady Jane Fellowes and Earl Spencer.
MOMENT TO REMEMBER
After warmly greeting their relatives, William and Harry stood either side of the statue, each pulling a cord to remove the green cloth cover and unveil the memorial for their guests.
According to the lip reader, Harry urged his big brother to: “Yank it!” while William took a more cautious approach, saying: “I didn’t want anything to go wrong. It’s important we unveil it right.”
There was applause from those present, who included the chairman of the statue committee Jamie Lowther- Pinkerton, a former private secretary to the Dukes, and fellow committee members Gerry Farrell, a gallery owner, Invictus Games Foundation trustee Guy Monson, John Barnes from Historic Royal Palaces and Diana’s close friend Julia Samuel, now one of Prince George’s godmothers.
Making up the party of 16 were the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley and his wife Hazel, garden designer Pip Morrison, Kensington Palace head gardener Gary James and Rupert Gavin and Graham Dillamore from Historic Royal Palaces.
It was, in the end, a “perfect” day, according to those who attended.
“It was intimate, moving and peaceful,” Graham, who was head gardener at the Palace from 1984 to 1991, when the Princess lived there with the young William and Harry, tells
hello!. “To have had a lovely summer’s day today with the roses and geranium in full bloom was just perfect.
“I think it was just an incredible moment when they pulled that cord off the statue to
‘Oh my, this is amazing,’ said Prince William, while Prince Harry added: ‘This is spectacular’ after they pulled off the cover to unveil the statue
reveal such a wonderful thing. There was a great, I thought, unity there.”
It had been particularly important to the brothers that the unveiling took place on Diana’s birthday – 1 July – with Harry telling a guest at the WellChild Awards at Kew Gardens the day before: “I’m just so glad we can do it on what would have been her birthday. We weren’t sure we would be able to.”
And despite their troubled relationship over the last few months, the two Dukes were determined the focus remain firmly on their mother.
One source present at the unveiling said it was “gentle, intimate and not at all
tense”, while another said the day had been enhanced by being such a small gathering.
The source said: “You had two of her sisters and her brother and her sons reminiscing.
“It was beautiful and more poignant, arguably, because it was an intimate family occasion. Had it been 100 people, it might not have been the same.”
After the unveiling, William and Harry took a moment to reflect before discussing the statue with its creator, who said afterwards: “I think their mother is there in a real physical sense.
“Perhaps in the evening, when the grounds are shut, they could easily come here for a moment of quiet reflection and I hope that will give them some sort of comfort or solace.”
The brothers had “made a huge contribution”, he added. “In many ways, I could say the sculpture belongs to them as well – they helped make it.
“They described their mother and in many ways there were private moments that were related. One certainly got the feeling she was an enormous amount of fun and [loved] playing jokes.”
The children in the statue were not based on living individuals, he said, but were put in to prevent the Princess from appearing isolated.
“One of the things that came across in talking to her friends and family was she was such a friendly and gregarious person and had a particular warmth for children. And in many ways, it alludes to her humanitarian work and shows she was a great comfort.”
‘It was beautiful and more poignant, arguably, because it was an intimate family occasion’
FOUR YEARS OF WORK
William and Harry commissioned the statue in 2017 to memorialise their mother and to mark the 20th anniversary of her death in a car crash in Paris aged 36.
Work to prepare the Sunken Garden began two years later and since then, five gardeners, led by Graham, have spent a total of 1,000 hours working on the land, planting flowers and preparing a new layout.
Pip, who created the new look, said: “This has been a very special project to work on as the Sunken Garden was a favourite place of Diana, Princess of Wales.
“We’ve worked carefully to ensure that the new layout and planting scheme complement the statue, providing a
calming place for people who visit Kensington Palace to remember the Princess.”
At least 4,000 individual flowers were planted, including 200 roses of five varieties, including ballerina and blush noisette, 300 tulips of three varieties and 100 forget-me-nots – Diana’s favourite flower.
They also added more than 500 lavender plants, 100 dahlias and 50 sweet peas, together with more than 1,312ft of fine, short-cut turf.
Kensington Palace said: “The Princes hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy. The statue aims to reflect the warmth, elegance and energy of Diana, Princess of Wales, in addition to her work and the impact she had on so many people.
“The portrait and style of dress was based on the final period of her life as she gained confidence in her role as an ambassador for humanitarian causes and aims to convey her character and compassion.”
For more information, visit hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/ whats-on/the-sunken-garden/.
‘Whenever I met Diana in the garden, she was happy, so the setting feels very appropriate‘
‘They could come here for a moment of reflflection and I hope that will give them some sort of comfort’