Diana could have healed rift between William and Harry, mourners claim on 25th anniversary of her death
31 August 2022, 14:14 | Updated: 31 August 2022, 14:15
Mourners outside Kensington Palace marking the 25th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, have suggested she could have healed the rift between her sons.
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Flowers, photographs and commemorative cakes were displayed near the south face of the palace, where Diana lived until her death in 1997.
Anne Daley, a well-wisher who woke at midnight to catch the early train from Cardiff, said the princess would have bridged the divisions between the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex, who recently announced they would mark their mother's death separately.
"They're at war with each other - so we're led to believe - and their wives are at war," she said.
"It's a terribly sad situation because we used to see her quite frequently with the children.
"I think like most mothers they'd call a family meeting, say, you know: 'Cut it out, and behave yourselves... stop all this silly nonsense.'"
Her sentiments were echoed by another mourner, Chris Imafidon, who used an umbrella emblazoned with Diana's face to keep the sun out of his eyes.
"If she was alive, the boys wouldn't be quarrelling," he said.
"She knows how to... bring them to her arms and hug them, and say: 'Come on, come on, you're brothers, you're there for each other'."
Diana was 36 when she died in a Paris hospital after her Mercedes crashed into a pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel on August 31 1997.
The accident also killed her partner, Dodi Fayed, and the car's driver, Henri Paul.
The Princess's death provoked an outpouring of public mourning that saw the area outside Kensington Palace flooded with flowers.
The roses and Union flags displayed on the same spot 25 years later, although far more modest, were enough to prompt tourists to stop and take pictures.
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Ms Daley claimed to have been one of the first people outside the palace when news of Diana's death broke, having lived just a mile away at Rutland Gate.
"It was extraordinary, it was eerie - people couldn't believe it was just an ordinary car crash," she recalled.
"The Princess of Wales, dead? Everybody was in shock. People were crying and people were wailing."
The flag at Diana's family home has also been lowered to half-mast to mark the anniversary of her death.
The act is significant because the lack of such tributes in the immediate aftermath triggered one of the monarchy's worse crises in modern history.
After her death the flag pole at Buckingham Palace remained bare, as was the protocol, because the Queen was away in Scotland, comforting William and Harry.
Newspaper headlines screamed "Show us you care" and "Where is our Queen? Where is her flag?".
The monarch, who eventually addressed the nation five days after the princess's death, relented by flying the union flag at half mast over Buckingham Palace for the first time on the day of Diana's funeral.
Diana's brother Charles gave a controversial eulogy at the princess's funeral which was seen as an attack on the royal family.
Earl Spencer vowed to Diana in his speech that her "blood family" would do all they could to protect William and Harry "so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned".
It was revealed on Sunday that William and Harry would no longer mark the anniversary of their mother's death together in public, and would instead commemorate her privately with their separate families.
That is in contrast to the 20th anniversary events in 2017, when they created a memorial garden at Kensington Palace, lent her possessions to an exhibition and met with members of the public.
But William and Harry, who are in the midst of a troubled relationship, have now made it clear those events would be their last public events to commemorate the anniversary "for the foreseeable future", The Telegraph reports.
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William has returned from visiting the Queen at Balmoral with his family while Prince Harry is expected to be at his California home with Meghan Markle.
Harry has said he will "share the spirit" of his mother with his children Archie and Lilibet as he marks the anniversary.
Speaking last week after a fundraising polo match for his charity Sentebale, named in memory of his mother, he said: "I want it to be a day filled with memories of her incredible work and love for the way she did it.
"I want it to be a day to share the spirit of my mum with my family, with my children, who I wish could have met her.
"Every day, I hope to do her proud. She was tireless in her work to support and destigmatise those experiencing HIV/AIDS. Fittingly, her favourite flowers were forget-me-nots."
It comes amid reports that Prince Charles is making regular visits to the Queen in Balmoral as she continues to experience her mobility issues - and on Wednesday it was announced she would appoint the next prime minister there instead of travelling to London,
It has been said the visits could be a sign of the heir to the throne's concern for her.
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The Queen has had to cancel a number of events in recent years that she would ordinarily want to attend, but she did delight fans with her Platinum Jubilee appearances over the summer.
She was last seen getting off her plane at Aberdeen airport on July 21.
And now The Sun reports that Charles has regularly made morning visits to Balmoral.
Majesty Magazine's Ingrid Seward told the newspaper: "It's highly unusual for Prince Charles to make these kinds of impromptu visits to see his mother."
