Kensington Palace has said that a memorial garden in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, is being planned ahead of the 20th anniversary of her death. Historic Royal Palaces is responsible for overseeing the plans and said the garden was in the “very early stages of development”. If it is completed, it will be the fourth London memorial created in Diana’s honour. It is expected to be completed before the anniversary on 31 August 2017 and Historic Royal Palaces has already advertised for a new gardener to help with the project. The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry were being kept informed about the garden project.
The other London memorials are the Diana Memorial Playground at Kensington Palace, the Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, and the Diana Memorial Walk at St James’s Palace.
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of the Prince of Wales and they were married on 29 July 1981 in a wedding held at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The marriage produced two sons and Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and she was celebrated for her charitable work. Her marriage to the Prince of Wales ended in divorce on 28 August 1996 and she lost the style Her Royal Highness and instead was styled Diana, Princess of Wales.
Her sudden death in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris on 31 August 1997 left the world shocked. Her funeral was watched by millions all around the world and the public outpouring of grief was immense. Her brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer said at the funeral, “She proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic.” She was buried privately on an island within the grounds of Althorp Park, the Spencer family home for centuries.
