01-07-21, 19:01
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re: Princess Diana PRINCESS DIANA Statue-Her 60th Birthday & DANCING WITH JOHN TRAVOLTA
Princess Diana Statue Unveiled at Kensington Palace - Harry and William Issue Rare Joint Statement About Mum
The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex have come to the poignant event this afternoon in which they will pay tribute to their mum at Kensington Palace on what would have been her 60th birthday
Reuters 1 JUN 2021
Princes Harry and William stood side by side at the unveiling of a statue in honour of their late mother Princess Diana.
Harry, who has been staying at Frogmore Cottage, arrived at Kensington Palace Gardens at roughly 1.40pm.
The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex are understood to have come to “an unspoken agreement” to put their feud behind them and make the day about their late mother.
The brothers were pictured standing shoulder to shoulder at the brief private ceremony.
Members of the Spencer family also attended today's unveiling, including her brother Earl Spencer and sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellows.
William and Harry have been wrangling over the final design with sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley since 2017, on the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death.
Both Princes last year said they wanted to recognise her “positive impact in the UK and around the world”.
The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex's mirrored body language showed their "deeper bonds of love" for one another, an expert has suggested.
As they entered the Kensington Palace garden to unveil the statue of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, William and Harry strolled side by side and both walked with their left hands touching their stomachs.
Body language expert Judi James said of the brothers, whose rift has long been documented: "I think what was more important was that their body language was very mirrored as they arrived - a sort of subliminal bonding.
"The mirroring would very much show their deeper bonds of love for one another."
She suggested that Harry put in more effort to make William laugh, but that was typical of their previous appearances in the past.
"Harry was more energetic. I think he was maybe putting in a little more effort to make William laugh.
"But that's very much how their relationship always was in the good old days," she added.
A beautiful statue of Princess Diana, commissioned by her beloved sons William and Harry, now sits in pride of place in her former home, Kensington Palace.
The artwork, which was revealed today, shows the late royal standing with three children wearing a fashionable high-waisted skirt and statement belt.
The unveiling left many fans asking who the children in the statue are, and the sweet story behind their inclusion in the piece has now been explained.
Diana was depicted with children to stop her appearing isolated
The bronze statue depicts the princess surrounded by three children, which were included to stop her appearing isolated.
It is 1.25-times life size and was cast by Castle Fine Arts Foundry in the traditional "lost-wax" process, with a patina of a bluish green over black.
Her short cropped hair, style of dress and portrait are based on the final period of her life - following her split from the Prince of Wales.
The three children featured in the sculpture are a diverse group with Diana's image holding the hand of a girl, a boy standing behind the group, and the princess resting her other hand on the shoulder of a boy who appears to have short afro-style hair.
Sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley explained the children were not based on living individuals, adding: "I think we felt if the princess stood on her own in solitary fashion she might appear isolated.
"And one of the things that came across in talking to her friends and family was she was such a friendly and gregarious person, and she had a particular warmth for children. And in many ways it alludes to her humanitarian work and shows she was a great comfort."
Sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley spent four years completing the statue
Sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley spent four years completing the statue of Diana, working closely alongside William and Harry.
The brothers commissioned the monument in 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of their mum's death.
Mr Rank-Broadley is a figurative sculptor whose professional career spans 35 years. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1974 to 1976 and was awarded the Boise Scholarship to Italy in 1977.
Working out of his studio in Gloucestershire, he has created public commissions at the Armed Forces Memorial (AFM) and National Memorial Arboretum.
He is also the artist behind the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, which has been used on the coinage of the UK and Commonwealth since 1998. He also created the Gold Sovereign, a bullion coin showing a bust of the British monarch.
The statue includes a paving stone with a poem extract
Beneath the statue is a plinth bearing Diana's name and the date of the unveiling, while in front lies a paving stone engraved with an extract inspired by the poem "The Measure of A Man".
The excerpt reads as follows:
“These are the units to measure the worth
Of this woman as a woman regardless of birth.
Not what was her station?
But had she a heart?
How did she play her God-given part?”
As a palace statement notes, the same poem was used in a programme for the memorial service commemorating the 10th anniversary of Diana’s death in August 2007.
Tributes to Princess Diana outside Kensington Palace (Image: ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
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