Princes Harry and William together inaugurated Thursday a statue in honor of their mother Princess Diana in the gardens of Kensington Palace in London, putting aside their differences after months of coldness in their relationship.
Under the watchful eyes of Diana’s brother and two sisters, William and Harry took off the cloth that had covered the memorial near the palace where the Princess lived and where William now lives.
The bronze statue represents the princess with short hair, surrounded by three children, and she puts her hands on the shoulders of two of them.
The two brothers said in a statement after the inauguration ceremony that they arrived side by side smiling and relieved: “We wish every day that you are still with us, and we hope that this statue will forever be considered a symbol of her life and legacy.”
Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, died in a traffic accident in Paris in 1997 at the age of 36, and she would have turned 60 on Thursday. The statue, completed by Jan Rank Brodley, was inspired by the last years of the princess’s life.
The sculptor explained that he and William and Harry wanted the statue to reflect the warmth ( Diana) and her humanity,” and to express the “impact she has had across generations.”
The inauguration of the statue, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was limited to 30 people, including members of Diana’s family, Count Charles Spencer and Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
Prince Charles missed the occasion that came a few weeks before July 29, the 40th anniversary of their marriage, which lasted until 1996, according to the Sunday Times, citing a person close to him. With the aim of “not to lick old wounds.”
Twenty-four years after her death, Princess Diana is still arousing interest Big, her old car sold for about $73,000 to a South American Museum this week. Her dresses are the focus of exhibitions in Britain, a phenomenon that the “The Crown” series contributed to consolidate through “Netflix.”
“The Battle of the Two Brothers”
But in addition to honoring the late princess, the main bet for this ceremony was whether the reunion of the two brothers could calm the crisis sparked by Harry’s resounding departure from the royal family and its consequences. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex caused tension in the royal family during the interview, especially by talking about questions of a nature Racist from an unnamed family member regarding the skin color of their son Archie.
From Harry and Meghan’s controversial interview with Oprah
Prince William (39) commented A year-old on this subject shortly after the interview was presented, during an official ceremony, saying that members of the royal family are “not racist at all.”
For his part, Harry, 36, described his older brother as a “prisoner” of the royal family.
Since then, the two brothers have met briefly during the funeral of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, last April, with no apparent sign of easing tensions.
And a specialist in the affairs of the royal family, Robert Lacey, confirmed in a recent book entitled “The Battle of the Two Brothers,” that “William did not speak to Harry during the ceremony at Windsor Palace after the funeral, for fear of leaking the content of the conversation directly from Meghan through Oprah Winfrey or through the network of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
Since then, Prince Harry has only returned to Britain last week from California, where he resides with his wife and two children, and suddenly appeared Wednesday during a charity event to support children
And the newspaper “Daily Mail”, quoting a royal source, stated that his return to British soil was an occasion for the two brothers to talk this week about England’s victory over Germany during the European Football Cup matches, which raises hopes of breaking the ice.
