July 1st, 1961, Diana Spencer was born, and now 60 years later, and 24 years after her tragic death, her sons Prince Willam and Harry have come together to unveil a statue to honour her work as a humanitarian, a mother, and the Princess of Whales. 

On Thursday, Prince William and Harry have come together at Kensington Palace to celebrate the memory of their late mother on what would have been her 60th birthday. As many have anticipated and assumed, the rumours of William and Harry’s disputes have trumped the event’s special meaning, and have caused many to believe the two brothers will be setting aside their differences to honour their mother.

As the afternoon celebration took place, both William and Harry walked to the statue side by side, with smiling faces, as they were greeted by a small number of guests, including aunts and uncles from Diana’s side, the sculptor, and the gardener.

The statue has been placed in the Sunken garden in Kensington Palace which was known to be Diana’s favourite place. As the boys pulled the drape off of the statue, they stood mesmerized by the look of it. The sculptor, Ian Rank-Broadley, who originally commissioned in back in 2017 for the 20th anniversary of her death. The palace’s statement revealed, “the portrait and style of dress were 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 bronze statue reveals Diana standing alongside two children, in an outfit more reflective of Diana’s style and sensibility to her relationship to the palace rules.

The garden itself was in the works since October 2019 and has had 5 gardeners work over 1,000 hours each, have selected more than 4000 flowers to create a “calmer and more reflective setting for the statue.”

As the event was held with few guests, it is known the both the Queen and her son, the father of William and Harry, Prince Charles was not in attendance. As it seemed to be a family event for Diana’s siblings and sons, the Queen has been on a series of trips as it is royals week, she was lasted seen in Scotland alongside the Duke of Cambridge.