Prince HarryandPrince Williamhave come together to honor their late mother,Princess Diana.
The brothers reunited at their childhood home, Kensington Palace, on Thursday, to unveil a statue depicting their mother with three children, reflecting Dian’s work to support and nurture children around the world.
“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,” William and Harry said in a joint statement released on Thursday.
The statement continued, “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.”
Thanking the team who helped bring the statue and the garden to life, they also expressed their appreciation for “all those around the world who keep our mother’s memory alive.”
Prince William and Prince Harry unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Gardens.Alamy Stock Photo
Prince William and Prince Harry.Alamy Stock Photo
The event featured a warm reunion between the brothers in their first time together since the funeral of their grandfatherPrince Philipin May. They exchanged greetings with members of Diana’s family, including her brother, Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, and her sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes.
Plans for the Princess Diana statue were first announced in February 2017, the year of many commemorations of Diana’s life, as it marked 20 years since she died in a car crash in Paris at age 36.
Thursday’s event wasscaled backdue to ongoing COVID restrictions in the U.K. Among the attendees were close family members of Princess Diana, statue committee members, the statue’s sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley and Pip Morrison, the designer of the Sunken Garden.
William’s wifeKate Middletonwas not in attendance, nor was Harry’s wife,Meghan Markle, who stayed in California with the couple’s two young children: 2-year-old sonArchie Harrisonand their daughterLilibet Diana, who was born on June 4.Queen Elizabeth,Prince CharlesandCamilla, Duchess of Cornwalldid not attend.
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One such opportunity wasPrince Philip’s funeral.
And for a moment, theybriefly chattedwhile still in view of the public outside St. George’s Chapel, but thenan argument broke out between William and Harry"within minutes of the siblings getting inside the castle and beyond camera vision," according to royal historian Robert Lacey, who has consulted onThe Crown.
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This ongoing discord between her sons would have made Diana"very upset,“according to Andrew Morton, who worked clandestinely with the princess on her 1992 biographyDiana: Her True Story.
Prince William and Prince Harry unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Gardens alongside palace gardener Pip Morrison.Alamy Stock Photo
And at the unveiling, it seemed the brothers were happily reunited, honoring their mother with a long-awaited moment of celebration and unity.
source: people.com
