Princess Diana statue could drive Prince Harry and Prince William APART, royal expert says
Princess Diana statue could drive Prince Harry and Prince William APART while the brothers grapple over her legacy, royal expert claims
- Princes William and Harry will unveil a statue of their mother Diana on Thursday
- Angela Levin predicts sculpture ‘could end up casting a shadow over the boys’
- Royal expert said Duke of Sussex has tried to ‘take ownership of mother’s legacy’
- Meanwhile Duke of Cambridge has sought ‘stable family’ of the Middletons
- Comes as Omid Scobie argues Prince Charles shouldn’t attend memorial
Princess Diana‘s statue could drive feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William further apart, a royal expert has claimed.
The Duke of Cambridge, 39, and the Duke of Sussex, 36, are expected to put any tensions aside for the poignant event on Thursday at Kensington Palace to mark what would have been their late mother’s 60th birthday.
However royal expert Angela Levin has suggested the memorial could be a cause for further heartache for the brothers, with Prince Harry trying to ‘take ownership of his mother’s legacy’ with his recent behaviour.
Writing in The Telegraph, she said: ‘Certainly that statue – dreamt up in the last true summer of brotherly love – could end up casting a long shadow over Diana’s boys unless they find a way to unite, as she would no doubt want more than anything.’
It comes as Meghan Markle’s friend Omid Scobie argued Prince Charles is right to stay away from memorial because ‘his association’ with late princess ‘isn’t positive’.
Princess Diana’s statue could drive feuding brothers Prince Harry, 36, and Prince William, 39, further apart, royal expert Angela Levin has claimed
Angela claimed Prince Harry’s decision to release a speech for The Diana Awards days before the memorial was more than just a ‘coincidence’.
She questioned: ‘Was this video performance a way of taking ownership of their mother’s legacy for himself, albeit couched in the language of LA therapy? Having given up his place in the Windsors, has Harry decided to mark his Spencer territory?’
Angela said the pair had different memories of their mother and were therefore focusing on different parts of her legacy, with Prince William putting his time into establishing a ‘stable’ family unit with the Middletons.
Meanwhile the royal expert also suggested if Diana had been ‘more realistic’ with Prince Harry about William’s future as King, the Duke of Sussex ‘might not have ended up so disillusioned.’
It comes as Meghan Markle’s friend Omid Scobie argued Prince Charles is right to stay away from memorial because ‘his association’ with late princess ‘isn’t positive’
It comes as Meghan’s friend Omid Scobie appeared on Canadian television and slammed the suggestion that Prince Charles should have been invited to Diana’s statue unveiling.
Speaking on The Social on CTV, he said: ‘Charles has really avoided most Diana memorials and commemorative events. His association with her life is not one that is particularly positive.
‘For everyone involved, including the brothers, it makes most sense if he keeps his distance, pandemic or no pandemic.’
It comes days after a source said Prince Charles will not attend Princess Diana‘s statue unveiling because the event could ‘resurface old wounds’ and bring back ‘happy, sad and regretful’ memories.
Days ago a source claimed Prince Charles will miss Princess Diana’s statue unveiling because the event could ‘resurface old wounds’ and bring back ‘happy, sad and regretful’ memories. Pictured, with fiancee Lady Diana Spencer during a photocall before their wedding while staying at Craigowan Lodge on the Balmoral Estate on 6 May 1981
‘He does find it terribly difficult,’ a friend said, speaking to The Times. ‘These moments have the potential to resurface old wounds, and it brings back memories for him; happy, sad, regretful.’
The source added: ‘Since Diana’s death, he has felt it best to keep those memories to himself and leave his sons to it.’
Another source previously told The Sun: ‘Charles has made it quite clear he will not be around beyond that because he is going to Scotland. There is no planned meeting between the three of them. Charles will leave the boys to it.’
It comes after reports that Prince William will visit his mother’s statue with his wife and children for a private moment ahead of its official unveiling.
Prince of Wales during a visit to Lloyd’s in central London to host the first in-person Insurance Task Force as part of his Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) on June 24, 2021 in London
The Duke of Cambridge is expected to view the memorial with his family privately in Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden before joining his brother Prince Harry for the official event on Thursday.
It is understood he wanted to give wife Kate and children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis a chance to see it before it was shown to the wider world.
A large box now covers the plinth where it is believed the statue has been put in position ahead of the event that falls on what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday.
Prince Harry is also expected to see the statue separately, the Telegraph reports, having quarantined at Frogmore cottage in Windsor after flying in from his home in California.
A large box now covers the plinth where it is believed the statue has been put in position ahead of the event that falls on what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday
The Duke of Cambridge is expected to view the memorial with his family privately in Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden before joining his brother Prince Harry for the official event on Thursday
Plans for the unveiling ceremony have been dramatically scaled back due to the pandemic with just a handful of guests – the estranged princes themselves and Spencer relatives – in attendance. There will also be just one pool reporter and broadcaster able to attend.
Harry and William will make separate speeches as they pay tribute to their mother’s legacy.
They will also thank sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley for creating the statue, which has been in progress since 2017.
Is it still not known whether the Duchess of Cambridge will join her husband for the event.
The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace was chosen as the ideal location as it was one of Princess Diana’s favourite places for reflection when she lived there
It was hoped that Kate would act as a peacemaker between the two brothers we have barely seen each other since Prince Harry’s departure for US last year.
The pair have privately told friends that they will do their utmost to ensure their differences do not distract from what they hope will be a moving celebration to recognise their mother’s ‘positive impact’.
Ever since they announced plans for the statue it has been bedevilled by problems. Originally it was hoped to be unveiled in 2017.
But there were delays over the design and, according to insiders, differences of opinion over what period in Diana’s life the statue should represent.
Such divisions led to a committee being set up after her death in 1997 in order to find a suitable way to celebrate her life to conclude that a statue would be wrong.
At the time, her family expressed reservations that no sculptor had ever properly ‘caught’ Diana. There were also real fears that a statue would become a shrine.
The six-strong committee headed by Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the Dukes’ former private secretary, has been instrumental in sourcing funds from private investors, said to include Sir Elton John and David Furnish.
The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace was chosen as the ideal location as it was one of the Princess’s favourite places for reflection when she lived there.
The statue’s sculptor, Ian Rank-Broadley, is most recognised for his depiction of the Queen, which has appeared on all coins in the UK and Commonwealth since 1998.
He also designed a gold coin marking the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012.
