Prince William and Harry make rare statement about Princess Diana

(Image credit: UK Press via Getty Images)

published 29 August 2020

A new Princess Diana statue will be installed next year on what would have been the late Princess’ 60th birthday, after the piece of art was commissioned by her two sons.

Kensington Palace confirmed the statue will be revealed on 1 July 2021
The statue - which will be placed in the garden of Kensington Palace - will mark the twentieth anniversary of her death
Prince William and Harry hope the installation will help those who visit Kensington Palace ‘reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy’
It follows royal news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent their first wedding anniversary in this special way

A new statue is set to be erected to commemorate the late Diana, Princess of Wales, twenty years after her tragic death.

Prince William and Harry commissioned the statue back in 2017 to allow people to “reflect” on their mother’s life and legacy.

The sculpture has been designed and created by Ian Rank-Broadley and will be installed on what would have been her 60th birthday next year, after the global pandemic delayed the installation process.

The news was confirmed in a statement released by Kensington Palace on Friday.

It read, “The statue that Prince William and Prince Harry have commissioned to commemorate their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, will be installed next year on what would have been her 60th Birthday.

The statue was commissioned to mark the 20th anniversary of her death and recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world.

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The statue will be installed in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace on 1st July 2021, marking the Princess’s 60th birthday. The Princes hope that the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy.”

It has been 23 years since Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris, when her sons were just 15 and 12.

Prince William and Harry’s joint statement comes after it was revealed that the boys went months without speaking after the Sussexes stepped down as senior royals.

According to co-author of new bombshell biography, Finding Freedom – Omid Scobie – the brothers cut contact following the Sandringham Summit – in which the plans for their departure were finalised.

On their deepening rift, he says, “The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit. They hadn’t seen each other. That’s really going to take some time to heal.”

Georgia is a Celebrity and Royal Writer working across GoodTo and Woman & Home, and the Director and Founder of communications company Farq Media. Prior to this she was Online Editor at New! Magazine – managing all of their digital content and social media accounts. Where she interviewed all of the hottest reality TV stars and spent far too much time commuting to London. She trained at Nottingham Trent University – where she achieved First Class Honours in Print Journalism whilst juggling copious amounts of work experience, freelance writing, blogging and having far too much fun with the dance society.