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.
Well-wishers are able to view the statue at Kensington Palace on Tuesday after Historic Royal Palaces made special arrangements to allow visitors access to the Cradle Walk around the Sunken Garden between 3pm to 5pm for the anniversary.
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.
Mr Fayed’s chauffeur Henri Paul was drunk and driving too fast.
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.
The secret visit of Princess Diana to Greece in September 1996
Back in September 1996, Diana, the Princess of Wales, secretly visited the Greek island of Evia to honour a recently deceased friend. The Princess was friend with 27-year-old Giannis Kaliviotis who lost his life upon a long-term battle with cystic fibrosis. Mr. Kaliviotis was hospitalised during the last months of his life in London’s Royal Brompton Hospital.
Mr. Kaliviotis was a trainee lawyer who was forced to move to London in 1995 to receive a 18-month treatment programme at the Royal Brompton Hospital. There, the Greek lawyer had an opportunity to meet with Princess Diana, when the latter visited the Hospital’s premises. The Princess was exclaimed by the lawyer’s will to recover from the disease and invited Mr. Kaliviotis to dinner at Buckingham Palace.
Princess Diana in Greece
Unfortunately, Mr. Kaliviotis lost the battle against the disease. Upon receiving the sad news, Princess Diana immediately flew to Athens.
From there, she went by car to Mr. Kaliviotis hometown at Limni, in the island of Evia. The much-loved Princess visited Mr. Kaliviotis family and paid her tributes to the local church. She then attended the funeral ceremony. Princess Diana was escorted by the Revered Metropolitan, Pavlos Ioannou.
Interestingly, Princes Diana’s secret trip to Greece attracted media attention. The funeral coincided with the divorce of the Royal couple, which had taken place a month before Princess Diana’s visit to Evia. The Royal couple publicly announced their breakup on 28 August 1996.
