Remembering Princess Diana

The 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is to be marked by a year-long celebration of her qualities of kindness, compassion and service…

It really is hard to believe that it’s 20 years on from when the world heard the terrible news of the passing of the People’s Princess. But perhaps that is because her iconic status has only grown greater with the passing years.

There are already many memorials in place to remind us of her, such as The Diana Memorial Playground, the amazing centrepiece of which is a huge wooden pirate ship.

This children’s wonderland opened on the 30th June 2000, the day before what would have been Princess Diana’s 39th birthday. Located next to her Kensington Palace home, it is a fitting tribute for a Princess who loved the innocence of childhood.

The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk was also opened on the same day in 2000 and takes visitors through four of London’s parks: St James’s Park; Green Park; Hyde Park; and Kensington Gardens. The seven-mile-long walk, charted by 90 plaques set in the ground, takes you within sight of famous buildings and locations associated with the Princess during her life. During the walk, visitors will see three palaces and two mansions, all of which figured in the life of the Princess (Kensington Palace; Buckingham Palace; Clarence House; St James’s Palace; and Spencer House, the one-time London house of the Spencer family).

REFLECTING DIANA’S LIFE

On 6 July 2004, the Queen officially opened The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London’s Hyde Park. Also present were Princess Diana’s younger brother Charles Spencer, her ex-husband Prince Charles, and her sons Prince William and Prince Harry.

Designed to express Princess Diana’s spirit and love of children, the fountain is located in the southwest corner of Hyde Park, just south of the Serpentine Lake and east of the Serpentine Gallery.