William and Harry reunite for Diana statue tribute

Princes William and Harry will set aside their differences on Thursday to unveil a new statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday.

The brothers will take the wraps off the tribute in the garden of Diana’s former London home at Kensington Palace, in a stripped-back ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.

When the project was announced in 2017, William, 39, and Harry, 36, said they hoped it would help visitors reflect on their mother’s “life and her legacy”.

Tributes are attached to the gates of Kensington Palace to celebrate what would have been Princess Diana's 60th birthday in London on July 1, 2021. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP

But coverage was muted, with some newspapers indicating Harry had asked for a minimal media presence at the unveiling, due to his dislike of tabloid reporting.

Diana, who died aged 36 in 1997 in a high-speed Paris car crash, remains an enduring source of fascination.

File: Diana, Princess of Wales, during a visit to Rimini, Italy in October 1996. Photo: John Stillwell / AFP

On Tuesday, her 1981 Ford Escort – an engagement present from Prince Charles – was sold at auction to a South American museum for over £50,000 (€58,100).

But despite royal aides describing Thursday’s ceremony as a “very personal” family event, all eyes will be on her sons for any signs of visible tension.

File: Prince William (left) and Prince Harry, the sons of Diana, Princess of Wales, bow their heads as their mother's coffin is taken out of Westminster Abbey following her funeral service on September 6, 1997. Photo: Adam Butler / pool / AFP

As young boys, the brothers provided the enduring image from Diana’s funeral, as they walked, heads bowed, behind her coffin past hushed crowds in central London.

When they assumed more royal duties as adults, they shared household staff and frequently appeared together to promote mutual causes, many of which were championed by their mother.

For a time, the brothers and their wives were dubbed “The Fab Four”, seen as modernising the royal family and making it more appealing to a younger generation.

But their once-close relationship has visibly soured. Royal biographer Robert Lacey has even called the bad blood the most serious royal conflict for generations.

There have always been tensions between the so-called “heir and the spare”, he said in publicity for his new book Battle of Brothers, “but nothing so profound as this”.

File: The Prince of Wales and his sons, Prince William (right) and Prince Harry, collect floral tributes to their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, from the crowd at Kensington Palace, the former London residence of the princess. Photo: Rececca Naden / pool / AFP

Icebreaker? 

Harry confirmed rumours that he and William had fallen out in a 2019 television interview, revealing that they were “on different paths”.

The former British Army captain – seen as more impulsive than his elder brother, who is second-in-line to the throne – now lives with his wife, Meghan, in the US.

The couple, who have two young children, have complained about the suffocating nature of royal life and how it affected their mental health.

Most pointedly, they accused an unnamed senior royal of racism, claiming they had asked what colour skin their unborn son, Archie, would have, as Meghan is mixed race.

As the royal family promised an investigation, and focus turned to diversity in the palace, William shot back to declare: “We are very much not a racist family.”

Harry was last in Britain in April for the funeral of his grandfather, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip.

He was seen talking to William after the service at Windsor Castle. But there has been little indication of any thaw in their frosty ties.

William’s wife, Kate, has said she has yet to be introduced to Harry and Meghan’s daughter, Lilibet Diana, who was born last month.

And last week, royal officials appeared to contradict Harry’s claims that he had been cut off financially since his move, as they published the latest accounts.

Omid Scobie, who wrote a sympathetic biography of Harry and Meghan about their shock move to the US, said Thursday’s meeting could help mend fences.

The statue unveiling could be “the icebreaker that is needed”, he told reporters in London recently. “There’s a lot to be discussed.”

Harry, who flew in from California last week, was pictured in British newspapers attending a charity event for sick children on Wednesday.

The Daily Mail also quoted an unnamed royal source as saying the brothers had been in contact about England’s win over Germany in the European football championships.

But coverage was muted, with some newspapers indicating Harry had asked for a minimal media presence at the unveiling, due to his dislike of tabloid reporting.

File: Britain's Prince Charles (background, L), Princess Diana and their sons, William (right) and Harry, leave the church of St Mary Magdalen near Sandrigham House on December 25, 1994. Photo: STR / AFP