The Princess Diana Statue Unveiling: Everything We Know

Though he’s now a Californian, Prince Harry is currently back in the U.K. to attend the unveiling of a statue of his late mother, Princess Diana, alongside his reportedly estranged brother Prince William. And just like Princess Diana’s iconic wedding gown currently on display in a museum, this event provides yet another opportunity to revisit the Diana Era of the royal family and for fans and friends to pay their respects to her memory. Here’s everything we know about the statue.

It will be unveiled on July 1.

The public will get its first look at the artwork at Kensington Palace on what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday. 

It was designed by Pip Morrison and sculpted by Ian Rank-Broadley.

Morrison also designed the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace. Prince Harry and Prince William commissioned the statue back in 2017, per German outlet Deutsche Welle, and the brothers said in a statement, “It has been 20 years since our mother’s death and the time is right to recognize her positive impact in the U.K and around the world with a permanent statue. Our mother touched so many lives.” Prince William and Prince Harry were 15 and 12 years old, respectively, when she died in a tragic car crash in Paris.

The crowd at the unveiling will be small.

In addition to Prince Harry, Prince William, Rank-Broadley, and Morrison, only a small number of guests have been invited to attend, as COVID-19 restrictions are still in place. Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, stayed home in California, having given birth to the couple’s second child less than a month ago. Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, may or may not be in attendance, as she wasn’t mentioned in the details offered by the palace, per People.

Both Prince Harry and Prince William are expected to speak at the event and will likely act cordial to one another despite widely rumored tensions. 

Their father, Prince Charles, will not be in attendance; he and Princess Diana had a famously tumultuous marriage, and Vanity Fair reports he will allegedly skip the event to avoid resurfacing “old wounds.”