Princess Diana statue unveiling brings together feuding Princes Harry and William

“Every 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.”

The unveiling was attended by a small group that included Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, and her two sisters, Sarah McCorquodale and Jane Fellowes.

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Kensington Palace said in a statement that the statue “aims to reflect the warmth, elegance and energy of Diana, Princess of Wales, in addition to her work and the impact she had on so many people.”

The figure of Diana is surrounded by three children who, the palace said, “represent the universality and generational impact of The Princess’ work.”

“The portrait and style of dress was based on the final period of her life as she gained confidence in her role as an ambassador for humanitarian causes and aims to convey her character and compassion,” the palace added.

London is not lacking in memorials to Diana, still revered as “the people’s princess.” There’s a playground at Kensington Palace, a fountain in nearby Hyde Park and a walkway at St. James’s Palace. The National Portrait Gallery’s collection includes more than 50 images of the photogenic royal.

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This latest tribute was commissioned from sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, whose portrait of Queen Elizabeth II appears on all British coins.

The statue has been installed in the newly redesigned Sunken Garden, one of Diana’s favorite places at her former home. The palace said the garden still features some of Diana’s best-loved flowers, including forget-me-nots. It’s also where Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, held their official engagement photo call.

From Friday onward, the garden will be open to the public during the palace’s opening hours.

There has been much debate in Britain about what sort of statue would pay appropriate homage to Diana. Some art critics have objected to the idea of a work that is lifelike and traditional, arguing that it would betray Diana’s modern image. Feminist critics have said the commission should have gone to a female artist.

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But many royal watchers were more curious about what the unveiling will reveal about the state of the royal family.

Prince Charles, Diana’s ex-husband, is in Scotland and wasn’t among the small group of family and friends in attendance. The spouses of William and Harry sat this one out.

So all eyes were on the two brothers, who wore dark suits and seemed in good spirits at the event as they talked and laughed with other guests.

Royal watchers will no doubt pore over their body language for any signs of healing, as happened during the April funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip. After the service, they were seen walking side-by-side, deep in conversation.

But many say reconciliation may be some time off.

William was 15 and Harry 12 when their mother died in a car accident in Paris in 1997. She was 36 years old, the same age as Harry is now. William is 39.

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When the royal brothers commissioned the statue, in 2017, their relationship was in a radically different place. They were neighbors: Harry lived in a cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, and William and his family lived in the palace itself. Together, they promoted charities and in particular drew attention to the stigma surrounding mental health — something they continue to do, but on different platforms and in different countries, with Harry having given up royal responsibilities, and perks, and living in California.

In a March interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry said, “I love William to bits,” but that their current relationship was one of “space.”

In that interview, Harry made a string of claims about the royal family, including allegations of racism. He also said that his family cut him off financially and that his father and brother were “trapped” within their royal lives.

Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, wondered in an email to The Washington Post whether Harry’s recent willingness to speak publicly about his family might stand in the way of a rapprochement.

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“How can the once inseparable brothers be reconciled, if at all? Who can say anything meaningful to Harry if it will immediately appear in the media thereafter?” Fitzwilliams wrote.

Hugo Vickers, a royal biographer, told The Post that chances of peace seem slim at the moment. “Any set of reconciliations he makes over here, he will have to explain when he gets home to his wife, won’t he?” Vickers said.

After Philip’s funeral, “we saw what looked like were signs of rapprochement,” Vickers said. But then “very shortly after, Prince Harry shot back to Los Angeles, and he started making some pretty disagreeable statements.”

On a recent podcast, Harry compared his formal royal life to a mixture of being on “The Truman Show” and living “in a zoo.”

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Even apart from the tensions with his brother, Harry has spoken about how returning to Britain has often been difficult for him.

“For most of my life, I always felt worried, concerned, a little bit tense and uptight whenever I fly back into the U.K., whenever I fly back into London,” he said. “For me, London is a trigger because of what happened to my mom.”

Ahead of the unveiling, Harry quarantined at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.