DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES How the Princess is being remembered at her former home
A NEW FOCAL POINT FOR TRIBUTES AS SHE CONTINUES TO BE THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS 24 YEARS AFTER HER TRAGIC DEATH
Fans will once more be heading to Kensington Palace in a poignant tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales next week to mark the 24th anniversary of her death.
But while the golden gates to the main entrance will no doubt become a shrine again, decked with flowers, candles and photos, this year there is a new focal point for those who want to reflect on the Princess’s life.
Last month, on the day she would have turned 60, Diana’s sons the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex unveiled a memorial statue to their mother in the grounds of her former London home. “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,” they said. Thousands of visitors have already travelled to see the newly installed bronze statue, which depicts the Princess in the later stage of her life, with three children by her side, and it’s expected many more will make the pilgrimage on 31 August – the anniversary of the crash in Paris that took her life.
“Lots of people come on that particular day and we anticipate it will happen again this year,” a spokesman for Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the site, tells
hello!. “People will still gather at the golden gates and we will encourage that, as there are limited views of the statue and it’s in a small space, so we will have a member of staff on hand to manage things.
“It was very busy there for the first couple of weeks after the statue went up.”
Created by Ian Rank- Broadley, the statue was the result of many years of planning. It stands in Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden – a place dear to Diana – looking out over a tranquil pond.
There are more memories of Diana on display inside the palace, where her iconic wedding dress is the magnificent centrepiece of the Royal Style in the
Making exhibition. Designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel, the silk, taffeta and lace creation is displayed complete with its 25ft-long train, which made its showstopping appearance at St Paul’s Cathedral 40 years ago.
“The exhibition’s been extremely popular throughout the summer,” the spokesman tells us. “There have been lots of visitors and it’s been selling out at weekends and over the holidays.”
SPEAKING TO THE GENERATIONS
That the love for Diana remains so strong comes as no surprise to Andrew Morton, author of the best-selling book Diana: Her True Story.
“There’s a continued fascination for Diana across the generations and I don’t think it will ever die,” he tells hello!.
“I think this will be the year of Diana – not only do we have the 25th anniversary of her death next year, but people will be flocking to Kensington Palace to see her statue and there’s a new portrayal of her in [the Netflix drama] The Crown. For Americans, there’s the added delight of Diana the Musical opening on Broadway in the autumn.
“Her memory stays with us because she had that difficult-to-define quality; charisma and a combination of glamour, vulnerability and accessibility. She was a very human Princess.”
While the anniversary will be a moment of reflection for those who felt
a connection with the “People’s Princess”, nobody will feel it more acutely than her two sons, who keep her memory alive for their own children.
Both men have used their beloved mother’s name for their daughters – Princess Charlotte, Prince William’s six- year- old daughter, and baby Lilibet, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s girl, who was born in June, have Diana for a middle name.
KEEPING HER MEMORY ALIVE
Meanwhile, William has spoken about the delight Charlotte and her brothers Prince George, eight, and three-year-old Prince Louis take in hearing bedtime stories about the grandmother they never got to meet.
“I regularly put George and Charlotte to bed, talk about her and just try to remind them that there are two grandmothers – there were two grandmothers – in their lives,” he said.
Harry’s talk of Diana also inspired his two- year- old son Archie’s first words, said the Duke.
Appearing on The Me You Can’t See mental- health documentary series, Harry told co-host Oprah Winfrey: “I got a photo of her in his nursery and it was one of the first words that he said: apart from ‘Mama’, ‘Papa’, it was then ‘Grandma’ – Grandma Diana.
“It’s the sweetest thing, but at the same time it makes me really sad because she should be here,” he added. “I wish she could have met Meghan. I wish she was around for Archie.”
Both William and Harry say that while the shock of losing their mother has stayed with them to this day, they find comfort in the legacy she left behind.
“When she died, there was such an outpouring of emotion and love, which was quite shocking,” Harry said in a BBC documentary to mark the 20-year anniversary of his mother’s death.
“It was beautiful at the same time and it was amazing; now, looking back at it, it was amazing that our mother had such a huge effect on so many people.”
His big brother added: “I think she’d be proud that Harry and I have managed to come through everything that’s happened, having lost her, and that gives me positivity and strength to know that I can face anything the world can throw at me.”
‘There’s a continued fascination for Diana; I don’t think it will ever die’