Royal fans were sombre as they gathered outside Kensington Palace today to mark Princess Diana‘s death anniversary after a fatal car crash in Paris claimed her life 28 years ago.
Well-wishers placed flowers, flags, and banners dedicated to the ‘forever missed, forever remembered’ Diana Spencer on the golden gates of the West London royal home on Sunday, 31 August.
The mother of Prince William and Prince Harry, whose fractured relationship would undoubtedly have caused Diana great sadness had she been alive today, was killed in a car crash alongside Dodi Al Fayed and chaffeur Henri Paul nearly three decades ago.
Despite efforts to save her, Diana was pronounced dead at 4am local time after suffering from a stroke at La Pitié Salpêtriére Hospital, Paris, on 31 August, 1997.
The ‘shrine’ to her memory outside Kensington Palace included photos of Diana taken over the years, including pictures with her now-estranged sons.
One fan also pinned photographs of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who tragically never met their late grandmother.
One banner affixed to the gates of Kensington Palace read: ‘Diana, the Princess of Wales, her work continues through her loving sons Prince William and Prince Harry.’
While the royal brothers are no longer believed to be on speaking terms, after Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle stepped down from their roles as senior members of The Firm, they continue to honour their mother’s legacy in their own ways.
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Royal fans were sombre as they gathered outside Kensington Palace to mark Princess Diana ‘s death anniversary after a fatal car crash in Paris claimed her life 28 years ago
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Despite efforts to save her, Diana was pronounced dead at 4 am French time at La Pitié Salpêtriére Hospital, Paris on August 31, 1997, after suffering from a stroke
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The ‘shrine’ to her memory outside Kensington Palace included photos of Diana taken over the years, including pictures with her now-estranged sons. She is pictured here with Prince William (left) and Prince Harry in 1987
William, 43, is carrying forward her work with youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, while Harry, 40, continues her legacy of working with HIV patients among other humanitarian causes that were close to their mother’s heart.
Last year, Richard Kay, editor-at-large for the Daily Mail, told the Mail+’s weekly talk show that if Diana was still alive, the ‘tussle’ between her two sons would not exist.
Kay, who was a very good friend of Princess Diana and would speak with her up to six times a day, said Harry and William have been fighting over her ‘legacy’.
He told Palace Confidential: ‘[They’ve] been tussling over Diana’s legacy, they’ve been pulling apart Diana’s legacy, [and picking] which part suits them best. I think it’s a great tragedy.
‘What I knew about Diana was, first and above all, was her love for her sons, that was clear to the whole world, she loved those boys. I think she would’ve been broken-hearted.
‘The big question is, would it have still happened had Diana still been with us? My own view is that it probably wouldn’t have because she would’ve remained the pivotal figure in both their lives and prevented the fallout from happening.’
Diana’s death anniversary comes a few days after it was announced that Harry is expected in London on September 8 for the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death where he will also attend the WellChild Awards – a charity event he has avidly supported.
At the event, Prince Harry will come face-to-face with his father King Charles for the first time in 20 months as hopes for a royal reconciliation were fortified after aides for held an informal peace summit last month.
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One banner affixed to the gates of Kensington Palace read: ‘Diana, the Princess of Wales , her work continues through her loving sons Prince William and Prince Harry’. The brothers, whose relationship has been fractured for some years now, are not on speaking terms at the moment
In the midst of the planned meeting, it is understood Harry’s wife Meghan will remain in California with the couple’s two children, Archie and Lilibet.
The last time the King saw his grandchildren was June 2022 when Harry and Meghan returned for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
A US source told The Mirror there was now a ‘determination on both sides to make this happen’ while speaking of a possible reconcilliation between father and son.
The source added: ‘Nobody is pretending the wider family issues have been resolved, but this is about beginning with Charles and Harry.
‘For the first time in a long time, there’s a genuine sense that reconciliation is within reach.
‘Prince Harry’s team and the Palace have opened a line of communication, and there is every hope that father and son will see one another when the Duke returns to London in September.’
The source said there was a ‘feeling the time is right’ following 20 months apart and as the King continues his cancer treatment.
It is expected the encounter will be a ‘simple face-to-face conversation between a father and a son’ rather than a ‘grand gesture or set-piece meeting’. ‘Privacy and dignity’ have also been highlighted as priorities.
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Well-wishers placed flowers, flags and banners dedicated to the late Diana Spencer on the golden gates to the south of the West London royal home today
However, a reunion between William and Harry, who were 15 and 12 respectively when Diana died, still seems a distant outcome after it is believed the future King declined to meet his younger brother during his trip next month.
A separate source told The Mirror that Prince William felt his brother had ‘repeatedly chosen public exposure over private resolution’ and expressed a determination not to be ‘dragged into the headlines every time there’s a new contract to promote’.
There was said to be an ‘issue of trust’ and perceived inability for Harry and Meghan to ‘keep things private’.
In 2020 when Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals, hopes were high within The Firm that a halfway point could be found.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed their decision to ‘step back as “senior” members’ was to become more financially independent and to enjoy more privacy from the prying eyes of the media.
But what followed was a slew of allegations against the monarchy. In their March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey the pair claimed the had suffered racism and that Meghan had even been left suicidal.
In 2022 they went on to accuse the palace of ‘unconscious bias’ before Harry’s memoir Spare in early 2023 made a number of new claims.
King Charles is said to have been ‘deeply saddened’ by the allegations but has left the door open to reconciliation.
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Other tributes included pictures of Diana with her sons as babies and snaps of the princess carrying out the humanitarian work she was adored for
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Visitors and royal fans flocked to the gates of Kensington Palace the former residence
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Charles, Diana and Harry watch as Prince William signs the Entrance Book at Eton College in 1995
It is believed the trigger that caused the rift to first develop between William and Harry was when the then-Duke of Cambridge advised his younger sibling to ‘take things slow’ with Meghan after they started dating in 2017.
Relations soured more after their dramatic exit from the Royal Family – dubbed ‘Megxit’ – with a source telling People that the brothers’ relationship is ‘forever changed’ and they ‘won’t get back to the way they were’.
‘Harry is looking straight ahead at his future with his family,’ they added, referring to the Sussexes’ new life in California – where they have resided since 2025 – with their two children.
Meanwhile, The Daily Mail’s Richard Kay said he believed Princess Diana would have been ‘proud’ of William and Kate for stepping into their places as Prince and Princess of Wales.
‘I think she would’ve been proud of William and Catherine and what a stylish edition they’ve made and how they’ve seamlessly stepped into hers and Charles’ shoes with a young family,’ he added.
But the royal expert also said that Diana would have been ‘hugely jealous’ of the fact that Prince Harry was able to ‘break away’ from The Firm.
‘You’ve got to remember, Diana was a radical, she was very unhappy, she was trapped within the royal system, she did try and break away, she couldn’t quite before her death,’ Kay said.
‘I think she would’ve been fiercely proud of the fact that Harry has chosen a life outside of the royal circle.’
