6 Princess Diana statues and memorials, from Paris’ Place Diana to the ‘tacky’ Innocent Victims bronze figures installed in Harrods, London
On what would have been the 60th birthday of the late Princess Diana, her sons Prince William and Prince Harry unveiled a new statue in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace, the former residence of the Princess of Wales.
Since Diana’s tragic passing, a number of statues and memorials have been erected in honour of her legacy. Here are five of them – and a bonus fact you may not have known about.
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Innocent Victims in Harrods, London
Innocent Victims is a bronze statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, which was on display at the Harrods department store in London, England, between 2005 and 2018. Dodi’s father Mohamed Al-Fayed commissioned the piece when he owned Harrods. It depicts Diana and Dodi facing each other and dancing in Mediterranean waves. The statue drew considerable criticism for its aesthetic merit, being widely described by the press as “tacky” and “distasteful”. The work has since been returned to the Al-Fayed family.
The Colwyn Bay sculpture
Not as well known as other statues or memorials of the princess is this sculpture by Merseyside artist Tom Murphy, who donated his work to Colwyn Bay in Wales. According to North Wales Live, the life-size sculpture portrays the late princess relaxing during her visit to Angola.
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Diana’s grave and temple at Althorp House
Diana was buried on a small island in the middle of the Oval Lake on the grounds of her family estate, Althorp House. Her burial place is marked with a white memorial plinth and urn. Although visitors are barred from visiting the grave itself due to security concerns, according to lifestyle news website The List, during the summer guests can leave tributes at a temple situated opposite. The Doric-style structure is inscribed with Diana’s name and contains a black and white marble silhouette of her.
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The Bloxwich statue
Her Harrods statue might have been called tacky, but this granite statue sparked sheer outrage from the outset. Stonemason Andrew Walsh sculpted the piece with the hope that it would be displayed prominently in his hometown of Walsall, West Midlands. But that wasn’t to be.
According to The Daily Express, its grand unveiling was cancelled after the town’s mayor called it “bizarre” and a local MP reportedly said it “looked more like Diana Ross”. It also failed to get royal approval.
Things went from bad to worse after the statue’s original glossy black lacquer was removed to grant it more of a grey tone, and moss started covering the artwork, leading to locals saying that the piece resembled Princess Fiona from the Shrek franchise, reported The Daily Express. It now stands outside Walsh’s funerary shop in Bloxwich, Walsall.
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The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London was intended to capture Diana’s spirit and love of children, according to The Guardian. Located in Hyde Park, it was officially opened in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth. Incidentally, its opening was also the first time the Windsors and the Spencers were seen together in seven years.
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Place Diana in Paris
Did you know that the iconic Flame of Liberty sculpture in Paris is not an official memorial to Princess Diana at all? A replica of the torch on the Statue of Liberty in the US, the piece originally symbolised the friendly relationship between France and the US, but its location on the northern end of the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, where Diana tragically died in a car crash, meant that it became an unofficial memorial to her. The site was officially named Place Diana in 2019.
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- Prince William and Prince Harry unveiled a new statue of the Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace – but she already has two memorials in London
- Her grave is marked by a temple at Althorp House, the Spencer family estate, but another unofficial statue drew comparisons to Diana Ross and Princess Fiona from Shrek