PRINCE Harry and William have ditched plans for a big gathering next week to celebrate the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana amid Covid fears.
The guest list for the ceremony on what would have been their mother’s 60th birthday has now been slashed from more than 100 to just a handful of people.
– Read our Princess Diana live blog for the latest updates
With the brothers set to stand shoulder-to-shoulder despite their ongoing bitter rift, dozens of Diana’s friends, ex-staff and supporters were due to gather at Kensington Palace on July 1.
But because Freedom Day has been delayed, the princes have hit the brakes on a large ceremony and will instead only be welcoming a few Spencer relatives, reports the Mail.
Guests who haven’t made the scaled back list – including Elton John and David Furnish – will instead be invited to a rescheduled date in September.
It’s unclear, however, if Harry will attend.
The unveiling next Thursday will be only the second time the brothers have come face to face since Harry’s bombshell chat with Oprah Winfrey.
The pair last saw eachother at Prince Philip’s funeral back in April.
Harry last night arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to head to the UK for the ceremony just as a car chase was unfolding.
The 36-year-old was seen arriving at the airport in a black SUV, where he took off for London.
The Duke’s arrival at LAX coincided with a driver breaking through a fence at a FedEx cargo facility around 6pm and leading police on a chase before being detained.
Police said that there were no injuries, but two runways were shut down as the chase was unfolding.
Video of the incident showed a massive police presence at the airport.
It’s unclear at this time what the driver’s motive was or if they were attempting to reach any flight or person at the airport.
Harry‘s flight to London took off just 45 minutes later.
William’s wife Kate Middleton is said to be acting as something of a peacemaker between the two brothers to help them put on a united front at the unveiling.
Sources have said that Kate has seen the Princess Di statue project through from the beginning and despite any tension between the Royals and Harry, they all “want the day to be solely about the Princess of Wales’s enduring legacy.”
The Diana memorial was commissioned by both Harry and William in 2017 to “recognize her positive impact in the United Kingdom and around the world.”
It will be installed at the Sunken Gardens, which was believed to be Diana’s favorite spot on the Kensington Palace grounds.
The Queen will not be among the handful of guests at the ceremony, and will instead be heading to Scotland.
Her Majesty will visit the country for Royal Week between June 28 and July 1 – to celebrate the Scottish community, innovation and history.
Meghan Markle will also miss the gathering, as she has stayed in the US with Archie and baby Lilibet instead of making the 5,000-mile trip from California.
