As the world remembers Princess Diana 25 years on from her death, the two most important people in her life, sons Prince William and Prince Harry, are spending the day privately — and thousands of miles apart.
Prince William, 40, is marking the anniversary with his wife Kate Middleton and their three children — Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 — a royal source says. The family is settling into their new home of Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate over the coming days.
Next week marks a new beginning for them all, as the three children will start at a new school, Lambrook, together.
Prince Harry, 37, meanwhile, is expected to spend the day in California with wife Meghan Markle and their children — Archie Harrison, 3, and Lilibet Diana, 1. Harry said he’ll be talking to his kids about Diana today as he shares her “spirit” with them.
“I want it to be a day filled with memories of her incredible work and love for the way that she did it. I want it to be a day to share the spirit of my mum with my family, with my children, who I wish could have met her,” he said in a speech at an annual polo game for his charity Sentebale last week.
Their remembrances come as people laid flowers at the gates of what was Diana’s home, Kensington Palace. Just as mourners did 25 years ago, well-wishers left floral tributes, posters and cards in the gardens — just yards from where William and Harry unveiled an official statue to their mother in July last year in the presence of Diana’s siblings.
Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, lowered the family’s flag to half-staff above the late princess’s childhood home, Althorp House. Diana is buried on an island in a lake on Althorp’s grounds.
Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award, also reflected on Princess Diana’s legacy.
“This summer marks 25 years since the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was defining moment,” she said in a statement. “Like many others, I can distinctly remember where I was when I heard the news. I also recall that overwhelming sense of loss that led me to leave my flat in East London to lay flowers at Kensington Palace whilst pregnant! They say you grieve because you love, yet I met a community of thousands of mourners, who like me, had never met her but grieved like we have lost our best friend and sister.”
Ojo also said that both Prince William and Prince Harry are “not afraid to speak out and be at the forefront of change,” just like their mother.
— Charles Spencer (@cspencer1508) August 31, 2022
Darren Cormack, CEO of the Mines Advisory Group, said the organization remembers Diana’s “ground-breaking and fearless work to raise awareness of the enduring threat of mines and unexploded ordnance, and the human suffering they cause.”
“Just a few months before her death, Diana walked through a minefield in Angola, calling for an international ban on landmines and bringing unprecedented worldwide attention to this lethal threat,” he recalled. “By the end of 1997, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention was officially adopted, and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) — an international coalition co-founded by MAG and supported by the Princess — was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
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