William and Harry to come together for unveiling of Diana statue

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry are expected to put their differences aside to reunite for the unveiling of a statue of their mother, to mark what would have been her 60th birthday next year.

The memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales was supposed to have been installed in Kensington Palace Gardens last year, but was delayed after William and Harry decided they needed more time to “get it right”.

There were suggestions that a feud between the royal brothers had caused the project to stall amid reports that they were “barely on speaking terms”.

On Friday, Kensington Palace issued a rare joint statement on behalf of the Duke and the Prince announcing that the long-awaited memorial would be revealed in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace on July 1, 2021.

“The statue that Prince William and Prince Harry have commissioned to commemorate their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, will be installed next year on what would have been her 60th Birthday,” the statement read.

“The statue was commissioned to mark the twentieth anniversary of her death and recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world.

“The Princes hope that the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy.”

A palace source said the design stages of the statue had progressed but installation had been delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The update follows reports that progress on the artwork had been hampered by the growing tensions between the Cambridges and the Sussexes in recent years. Harry and his wife Meghan stepped down as senior royals in March after the prince admitted he and his brother were “certainly on different paths".

On Friday, a source close to the Sussexes, who recently moved into a £11 million home in Santa Barbara, said they were “happy to work with Kensington Palace on something that is so important to everyone".

William and Harry first announced plans for the statue in January 2017, saying "time is right to recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world with a permanent statue".

That August, they marked the 20th anniversary of their mother’s death with a memorial White Garden, on the same grounds they had played in as children in Kensington Palace.

The two princes, who were just 15 and 13 when Diana was killed in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, commissioned the statue of the woman who they said "touched so many lives" after the £3.6 million Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park was beset with problems.

Diana's grave is on an island at her family seat, Althorp, Northants, where it cannot be accessed by the public and the Royal brothers had long felt that there was no “fitting or lasting tribute” to her life.

In December 2017, sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, whose effigy of the Queen has appeared on all Commonwealth coins since 1998, was revealed as the chosen artist.

In a joint statement, William and Harry said: “We look forward to unveiling the statue, which will allow all those who visit Kensington Palace to remember and celebrate her life and legacy."

Eighteen months passed, and in July 2019, William reportedly told fans gathered outside Kensington Palace (on what would have been his mother’s 58th birthday) that the statue would materialise “soon, very soon”.

However, reports emerged in May this year suggesting the brothers had struggled to agree on how the statue would look.

A palace insider confirmed that they had finally settled upon a design and that “ground work” had begun this summer following delays caused by Covid-19.

“This is not a short-term project,” said the insider. “This is a statue that will last for ever and the dukes want to ensure that this enduring monument is completely right.”

On Friday night, a well-placed source said both princes had been involved in the on-going process and that further details would be announced in due course.