Statue finally takes root in Princess Diana’s beloved sunken garden: Princes William and Harry worked with Kensington Palace team to re-design site of statue unveiling… filling it with glorious scented blooms adored by their mother
- Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden re-designed in memory of Princess Diana
- Princes William and Harry helped to re-vamp the garden, filling it with flowers
- Over 50 flower varieties planted for what would have been Diana’s 60th birthday
The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace has been redesigned in honour of Princess Diana for what would have been her 60th birthday on July 1, 2021
A haven of tranquility in bustling London, the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace was one of Princess Diana’s favourite spots for reflection.
She would often stop to chat to the head gardener as she returned from her morning jog, complimenting him on the floral displays and sharing a joke.
There is no more fitting place to unveil the only statue ever commissioned of the royal today on what would have been her 60th birthday.
And it is not only the statue, designed by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, that will provide a lasting memory of the princess, whose life was cut short in a Paris car crash almost 24 years ago.
Her sons Princes William and Harry have worked closely with the team at Kensington Palace to re-design the garden, filling it with glorious scented blooms loved by their adored mother.
Over 4,000 flowers have been planted, incorporating 50 varieties, including 100 of Diana’s favourite Forget-me-nots, 300 tulips and more than 500 lavenders.
There are more than 200 roses, 100 dahlias and 50 sweet peas. More than 400 metres of turf have been laid to complete the setting.
Her sons Princes William and Harry have worked closely with the team at Kensington Palace to re-design the garden, filling it with glorious scented blooms loved by their adored mother
The layout and planting scheme was devised by garden designer Pip Morrison. It was then created by the gardens and estates team at charity Historic Royal Palaces.
Work began in October 2019 and since then five gardeners have spent 1,000 hours on planting.
The garden and statue of Diana will be free to view during palace opening hours from tomorrow, but will be roped off for the unveiling today.
Only William, Harry and a small group of Diana’s closest family will be present.
What had originally been planned as a large celebration to mark her life has now been classed as a ‘private event’ – largely due to bad blood between the brothers and Harry’s determination to control media coverage.
Only Prince William, Prince Harry and a small group of Princess Diana’s closest family will be present at the statue unveiling today (pictured, William and Harry in London in 2018)