Statue of Diana: William and Harry pay homage to their late mother
The sons of Lady Diana, in cold for several months, inaugurated the statue of their mother, this Thursday, in the gardens of the palace of Kensington.
Princes William and Harry put their differences aside to pay tribute to their mother's memory. While tensions have persisted between them for several months, the Duke of Sussex and the heir to the throne together unveiled, this Thursday, July 1, 2021, a statue in tribute to Lady Di, in the gardens of London's Kensington Palace. As Diana's siblings watched, the two brothers removed the fabric covering the monument installed near the palace where Princess Diana once lived and where the Duke of Cambridge now resides. The bronze statue shows the short-haired princess, surrounded by three children, resting her hands on the shoulders of two of them.
"Every day we would like her to be always with us, and our hope is that this statue will be considered forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy," the two brothers said in a statement after the event, to which they arrived side by side, relaxed and smiling. Died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at the age of 36, the Princess of Wales, née Diana Spencer, would have turned 60 on Thursday.
"Capturing the warmth and humanity" of Lady Di
The statue, designed by Ian Rank-Broadley, is inspired by the last years of his life. The sculptor explained that he wanted, along with William and Harry, "to capture her warmth and humanity while showing the impact she has had through the generations." The statue was unveiled in the presence - Covid-19 obliges - of only about 30 people, including Diana's siblings, Earl Charles Spencer, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
Prince Charles, whom Diana married in July 1981 at the age of 20 and divorced in 1996, did not attend the ceremony. According to a relative quoted by the Sunday Times, he did not want to "wake up old wounds". More than 24 years after her death, the myth of Lady Di lives on: her car was auctioned for some 60,000 euros at a museum in South America this week, she still appears as a fashion icon and her dresses are regularly featured in UK exhibitions - a phenomenon fueled by The Crown series.
The interview that ignited the powder
But more than the tribute to the princess, the stake of the ceremony was to know if the reunion of the two brothers can appease the crisis caused by the sensational exit of Harry from his role within the royal family, and the resounding interview. given with his wife Meghan Markle to the star of the American screens Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in March. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex particularly offended the royal family by suggesting in their river interview that one of its members had behaved in a racist manner while questioning before his birth about the color of the skin of their son Archie. Members of the royal family "are absolutely not racist," Prince William, 39, replied shortly after. To be described by his 36-year-old brother as "trapped" by the royal family must not have been to the taste of an elder promised to the heavy office of king.
Their reunion on Thursday was the first since the funeral of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. At the time, "William did not speak to Harry at the reception at Windsor Castle following the funeral for fear that the content of the conversation would be immediately disclosed by Meghan through Oprah Winfrey or by the Sussex network ”, assures Robert Lacey, specialist of the royal family, in a book which has just come out, entitled The Battle of the two brothers.
Prince Harry only returned last week from California, United States, where he resides with his wife and two children, making a surprise appearance on Wednesday at a charity event for sick children. According to the Daily Mail tabloid, which quotes a royal source, his return to British soil gave the two brothers the opportunity to discuss England's victory over Germany in Euro football, fueling the hope of a potential thaw in their relations.
