Tribute to Lady Diana: discover the statue of the Princess of Wales
This Thursday, July 1, the statue in tribute to Princess Diana was inaugurated by her sons, William and Harry. The work, by British sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, now sits in Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace.
It was the big day: this Thursday, July 1, for Princess Diana's birthday, her sons William and Harry unveiled a statue in her honor. The event was originally supposed to bring together around 100 people, according to reports from Richard Kay, a reporter for the Daily Mail. The two princes would have liked to invite friends, supporters, ex-employees and former collaborators of their mother. Unfortunately, this would not have been possible because of the Covid-19, as Hello Magazine had explained: “It was announced to the guests who were to come on July 1 that a new date would be set in September - if the Covid-19 allows it.
In the meantime, it was therefore in a small group that the inauguration took place. The opportunity for William and Harry to take a first step towards reconciliation, and to salute the memory of Diana. Kensington Palace had warned: only the "close family" would be present (including his sisters Jane and Sarah), as well as the people who designed this new space of meditation in the gardens of the palace.
Princess Diana immortalized for eternity
Pip Morrison, the landscaper who designed the garden, was in attendance. Beside her was Ian Rank-Broadley, the sculptor who created the statue of Diana. The artist is known in the United Kingdom for having produced the effigy of the Queen which has illustrated the coins since 1998. He has also designed coins celebrating the centenary of the Queen Mother, and those for the Silver Jubilees and of Elizabeth II gold. For the larger creations, Ian Rank-Broadley mainly works with bronze: it is the material he used for his statues installed at The Armed Forces Memorial, a large British site commemorating the Second World War. Accustomed to official work, the sculptor presented this July 1 his statue - in bronze, of course - of Diana to his sons.
Placed in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace, one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the palace where the Princess of Wales lived for over 15 years, the representation was designed at a scale of 1.25x, slightly larger than the original Diana . At her feet, on the plinth, are engraved the name of the princess and the date of the statue's unveiling. In this evocation of the princess, Diana appears accompanied by three children, symbols of her commitment to childhood. The work of Ian Rank-Broadley is accompanied by a slab on which we can read an excerpt from the poem The Measure of A Man. A very symbolic detail, since it was read during the tribute paid to the princess in 2007, for the 10 years of her disappearance.
