Princes William, Harry unite to unveil mom Princess Diana’s new statue

Princes William and Harry on Thursday came together at Kensington Palace in London to unveil a new statue in memory of their late mother Princess Diana on what would have been her 60th birthdayA ceremony described as small and intimate was held for the unveiling of the Princess of Wales memorial statue which was commissioned by her sons in 2017 At the time the brothers said they hoped it would allow visitors to reflect on the life and legacy of their late mother who died in a Paris car crash in 1997Today on what would have been our mothers 60th birthday we remember her love strength and character ndash qualities that made her a force for good around the world changing countless lives for the betterrdquo read a joint statement by the brothers recently believed to be somewhat estranged since Harry stepped back as a frontline royal and relocated to the US with wife Meghan Markle and their two childrenldquoEvery 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 saidThank you to Ian RankBroadley Pip Morrison and their teams for their outstanding work to the friends and donors who helped make this happen and to all those around the world who keep our mothers memory alive the statement read in reference to the creators of the memorialDianas brother and sisters also attended the small ceremony but due to the COVID19 pandemic lockdown many of Dianas friends were unable to attendBrothers William and Harry were last seen together when Harry flew into the UK from California for their grandfather Prince Philiprsquos funeral in April The 36yearold returned for the ceremony this week at the Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace which was Dianarsquos home for 16 years after her divorce from husband Prince CharlesThe garden which sits within Londons Hyde Park and will be open to the public to visit for free from Friday was one of the late princessrsquo favourite places at Kensington Palace which has been filled with more than 4000 flowersThe layout and planting scheme has been designed by Pip Morrison and created by the Gardens and Estates team at Historic Royal Palaces HRP led by Deputy Head of Gardens and Estates Graham DillamoreThe new design for the garden by Morrison retains the historic structures within a simplified layout of deeper flower borders and a more generous lawn around the pool to create a calmer and more reflective setting for the statue by sculptor Ian RankBroadleyThe planting design features a number of Dianarsquos favourite flowers including forgetmenots as well as many other spring and summer blooms in a variety of pastel shades Work on the garden began in October 2019 and since then five gardeners have spent a total of 1000 hours working on plantingldquoThis has been a very special project to work on as the Sunken Garden was a favourite place of Diana Princess of Wales We have worked carefully to ensure that the new layout and planting scheme compliments the statue providing a calming place for people who visit Kensington Palace to remember the Princessrdquo said MorrisonDillamore Deputy Head of Gardens and Estates at Historic Royal Palaces added ldquoWhile she was in residence at Kensington Palace Diana Princess of Wales regularly admired the changing floral displays in the Sunken Garden and would always stop to talk with me and the other gardeners who cared for itldquoOver three decades later Irsquom honoured to have been part of the team preparing the garden for the installation of this statuerdquoTo mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana Princess of Wales in 2017 the garden was temporarily renamed The White Garden and planted with flowers in white and soft pastel colours which took inspiration from items from the Princessrsquo wardrobe then on display in the palaceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever