Buckingham Palace has tribute to Diana
LONDON — London’s Buckingham Palace has unveiled an intimate tribute to Diana, the Princess of Wales, marking the 20th anniversary of her death.
In one of the palace’s state rooms, curators have carefully re-created a desk the princess worked at in her sitting room at Kensington Palace, complete with family photos, cherished items and music cassettes. She wrote letters here, read briefings and took care of other correspondence.
Many of the items shown on and around the desk were selected by her sons, William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry.
“It was chosen to reflect an aspect of Diana, Princess of Wales’ official duties. So the work that she would undertake at her desk before and after engagements,” said curator Sally Goodsir. “So, we’ve really tried to recreate her desk as it was in her sitting room at Kensington Palace. And using objects that she had upon her desk and from memories that her sons ... have of her.”
The desk features a leather frame that has photographs of family and friends. Also on display: A case of cassette tapes (ranging from Elton John to Pavarotti, according to Goodsir) and a radio reflecting her love of music, along with her ballet shoes, which hung on the door of her sitting room at Kensington Palace.
Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997.
The tribute to Diana is part of Buckingham Palace’s annual summer opening, which also includes the exhibit “Royal Gifts,” a special display of over 200 items presented to Queen Elizabeth II during her 65-year reign.
The gifts include a Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award presented to the queen in 2013 for her patronage of the film and television industries. Some items were presented to her during state visits and overseas tours, such as a model of a warrior presented in 1974 from Papua New Guinea, and a portrait of the queen made with woven banana leaves, given to her in Rwanda in 2006.
“I’ve tried to display objects from as many countries as possible and really showcase national craftsmanship,” explained Goodsir.
Other items reflect the queen’s interests, such as a bronze model of a riding horse she once owned and a porcelain model of her as a young princess on horseback. Also featured are a bag of salt presented to her in the British Virgin Islands and a flag worn by an astronaut during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station in 2016.
The palace’s 25th annual summer opening runs through Oct. 1.