PRINCE William and Harry stayed for just TWENTY minutes after the unveiling of Princess Diana’s statue yesterday, royal sources have claimed.
The feuding brothers put their differences aside for an hour to pay tribute to their mother in a “moving and dignified” ceremony – with the Duke of Sussex said to be looking “relieved” as he left.
Harry and Wills were joined by Diana’s close family for the the unveiling in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace on what would have been her 60th birthday.
The feuding brothers had not met in person since Prince Philip’s funeral earlier this year. During his Oprah interview in March, Harry said his relationship with his William was “space”.
Whilst there was no time for a heart-to-heart conversation, the brothers put on a united front today for the ceremony.
Champagne was laid on for the party on the Kensington Palace Pavilion following the unveiling at 2.45pm and Harry stayed for a quick drink, according to the Daily Mail.
But just twenty minutes later, he was whisked away and driven out of the palace gates.
The Duke of Sussex arrived at 1.32pm and was waved through the gates in a chauffeur-driven car.
According to the Daily Mail, he will have spent just ten minutes with William before the beginning of the ceremony.
Royal sources told the newspaper that Harry was greeted not by his brother but by James Holt, a former press officer at Kensington Palace who now works for the Duke’s Archewell Foundation.
With Diana’s siblings watching, William and Harry pulled away a green cloth covering the monument which will forever remind visitors to her former home of Kensington Palace about its most famous resident.
Harry and William chatted informally with the guests, who included the Sunken Garden’s designer Pip Morrison, Kensington Palace head gardener Gary James, and Graham Dillamore, deputy head of gardens and estates at Historic Royal Palaces.
William and Harry appeared in good spirits throughout the event, laughing and joking with their guests and appearing at ease in each other’s company.
In a statement released after the brief ceremony, the brothers said: “Today, on what would have been our mother’s 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character – qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better.
“Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy.”
The brothers jointly commissioned the statue of their mother in 2017 – the 20th anniversary year of her death in a car crash – when their relationship was in a better place.
Kensington Palace said the statue aims to reflect Diana’s “warmth, elegance and energy”, while the children represent the “universality and generational impact of the princess’s work”.
