Twenty-four years have passed since Diana, Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash.
The princess – the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex’s late mother – was just 36 was she was killed on August 31 1997.
Nearly a quarter of a century on from Diana’s shock death, the statue commissioned by William and Harry – whose rift has now been long documented – was finally unveiled last month.
Due to the pandemic, the area is only usually accessible to the public from Wednesdays to Sundays.
William, the Duchess of Cambridge and their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – are understood to be commemorating the anniversary privately.
Devoted fans of Diana make a pilgrimage to leave flowers and messages at the ornate Golden Gates of her former London home each year.
2021 saw the BBC write to the royal family to apologise for the circumstances surrounding Diana’s famous Panorama interview in 1995.
The princess’ brother Earl Spencer said he “draws a line” between the bombshell television appearance and her death two years later.
An inquiry found the BBC covered up “deceitful behaviour” used by journalist Martin Bashir to secure his headline-making world exclusive and that he faked bank statements.
William condemned the BBC in a statement saying the interview had fuelled his mother’s “fear, paranoia and isolation” in the final years of her life and damaged her relationship with the Prince of Wales.
Harry also hit out at the corporation, saying: “The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life.”
The princess and lover Dodi Fayed were killed when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris as they were being pursued by the paparazzi.
William was 15 years old and Harry 12 at the time, and the brothers faced the harrowing task of walking through the streets of central London behind Diana’s funeral cortege in front of crowds of mourners.
More than two decades on, the pair have a troubled relationship, with Harry, now living with the Duchess of Sussex in California, describing it is as “space”.
The Sussexes later accused the royal family of racism in their Oprah interview and the institution of not helping Meghan when she had suicidal thoughts.
William was said to have been left “furious” that private family matters were brought into the public domain.
The book, in a new epilogue, said, among other claims, that several members of the royal family were understood to have been “quietly pleased” that Meghan stayed away from the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral because they “didn’t want a circus”.
Harry is set to publish his memoirs in 2022 – which will also be the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with the Windsors braced as he vows to write an “accurate and wholly truthful” account of his life.
