Princes Harry and William Are a United Front at Princess Diana Sculpture Unveiling
Prince Harry and Prince William were not going to give the tabloids any extra fodder during a ceremony to honor the legacy of their late mother, Princess Diana. The two royals presented a united front today to unveil a statue of their mother on what would have been her 60th birthday.
Harry and William entered the ceremony side-by-side. Harry, notably, had a grin on his face as he turned toward his older brother for what seemed like some familiar small talk. Neither of their wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, was with them, as the ceremony’s guest list was kept purposefully intimate (Markle, notably, is back in California after having recently given birth to her second child). Only 13 people total were on hand. That list included Diana’s siblings (and, hence, the Prince’s non-royal aunts and uncles) Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Lady Jane Fellowes, and Earl Spencer Charles. Diana’s close friends Julia Samuel and Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton were also invited, as was the sculpture’s creator Ian Rank-Broadley. Rank-Broadley was handpicked by the brothers to commemorate their mother.
The statue sits in Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden, which was reportedly the late princess’s favorite place to reflect. The palace was Diana’s official residence both during and after her marriage to Prince Charles, and where the royal brothers were raised. Prince William and his wife are now the most senior royals living at the palace.
The relationship between the brothers has reportedly been tense for years now, and was exacerbated after Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. The exact nature of their relationship right now seems to depend on which “royal historian,” “royal biographer” or British tabloid you read, although just about no one believes it's particularly strong at the moment. This is only the second time the brothers have reunited face-to-face after the interview—the first was the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip.
But by all accounts, both brothers did not want to let the remembrance of their mother be pictured as some sort of royal showdown. It remains unclear whether Harry and William may spend more private time together after the unveiling or whether Harry will see other members of his family before returning to California.