The unveiling of the statue of the late Diana, Princess of Wales was, in the end, a royal event like most others.
Members of the Royal Family arrived, greeted guests, and unveiled a statue, all while footage and photographs were taken by a small press pool. Were it not for the weeks of endless speculation about the relationship between the two Royals at the centre of this moment, as well as the significance of the person being immortalized, it would have just been another day at Kensington Palace and on the Royal beat.
Given the rocky relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry, they probably welcomed the public health guidelines in the U.K., which were used to mandate a much smaller event. So they were joined by only a few obvious guests: Diana's brother and sisters, the sculptor, the gardener, the head of the committee and a very few close friends.
To avoid any opportunity for commentators, lip readers, and body language experts as well as sharp-eyed editors to parse the words, expression and vocal inflections, there were no speeches and little opportunity for any public discord.
It was clearly a very strategic and savvy move to avoid live television coverage, as well as to release a joint statement, of just three lines. This ensured that the focus of the event remained on the legacy of the late Princess of Wales, and the statue which is now in the Kensington Palace Gardens for the public to remember her by.
As one of the most prominent people associated with the palace over the years, but by no means its longest resident, it is fitting that she should be represented in this way and in this place, as it is said to be one of her favourites while she lived there.
Prince William and Prince Harry certainly put their best face forward and conducted themselves with civility and professionalism, as many expected. The ceremony has been the subject of much negotiation over many years, and this was made much more complicated and tricky given the distance of Prince Harry from his own family both in kilometres, as well as in outlook. It will have been the subject of much to and from between private secretaries in the U.K., as well as those public relations staffers surrounding the Sussex’s in the United States.
Many had felt that the memorials established to date for the princess have been insufficient to properly remember and commemorate her relatively short but impactful life. A children's playground near Kensington Palace was opened in 2000, along with a commemorative walk in London of significant places which the princess visited or lived.
In 2004, the Queen presided at the official inauguration of a fountain in Hyde Park, which is also nearby. However, like so many posthumous initiatives associated with the life of the late Princess of Wales, these have been mired in controversy and dissatisfaction. Along with the award named for her and the foundation established to memorialize her, these have proven ripe targets for people with their own agendas, charlatans and those whose self interest was other than Diana or her boys. The statue now seems to the final step in defining her legacy.
There will be different views about the statue, the quality of the likeness, what she is wearing and the artistic decisions made, but there is no doubt that this was meant to capture Diana as she was near the end of her life. Purposeful, intentional and providing comfort and love to those around her, with three children - not her own - who suggest her humanitarian and charitable interests. The engraving reflects a poem that was read at the memorial held on the 10th anniversary of her death, “The measure of a man,” suggesting it was not her station which was important but her heart.
In past years, the commemoration of her life has largely taken place on anniversaries of her death, with significant remembrances at the 10th and 20th mark. The unveiling of the statue on the 60th anniversary of her birth, July 1, was a move away from remembering the sad and tragic circumstances of her death, in favour of the happier occasions at the beginning of her too short life.
Many observers noted that the two princes seem to spend much more time talking to others than to each other during the course of the short ceremony. Video footage was released only once Prince Harry had left Kensington Palace and he appears to have been there for only 90 minutes. This is not the signal that many were looking for to suggest that Diana’s ceremony might have been an opportunity to reconcile and talk things out. While we do not know the full extent of Prince Harry's conversations and meetings in the U.K. leading up to the ceremony, it appears that this was yet another opportunity during which emotions are still running high and any meaningful reconciliation was not yet possible.
Diana would surely have wished her boys to be side-by-side in life and in facing the challenges that come with being part of the Royal Family and William’s destiny as king. It remains a very important priority for the Prince of Wales and his sons to come together and soon, although this may have to wait for the end of the pandemic when full travel returns and Prince Harry can spend time in the U.K. with Meghan and their two children.
For Prince William, who is looking ahead to fewer members of his family who are working members of the firm at the centre of the Commonwealth, the relationship with his brother, nephew and niece is of particular importance. Will and Kate will otherwise be alone in many of these responsibilities. While it may be too much to expect that Harry and Meghan will return to the working Royal Family, these relationships are important to the one who takes his place on the throne, given the loneliness and magnitude of the responsibilities.
While this bronze image of Diana looking at her former home of Kensington Palace surrounded by her favourite flowers and children to whom she gave much joy and paid so much attention, the scene seems incomplete without the unity of her own family in support of one another.
While the statute of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is finally complete, the relationships in the Royal Family remain very much a work in progress.
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