Princess Diana remembered on the 20th anniversary of her death as mourners lay flowers and hold vigil at Kensington Palace
LOYAL Princess Diana mourners have this morning gathered at the gates of Kensington Palace to mark the 20th anniversary since her death.
Since the early hours, fans have been outside the Princess of Wales’ former home to lay flowers, light candles and hold up touching signs as a tribute.
Mourners from all over the world are paying their respects to Princess Diana who was tragically killed in a Paris car crash on August 31 1997.
Two decades may have passed since her death shocked the world but her appeal remains undiminished.
Her sons the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry have already paid tribute to their mum this week by visiting the floral tributes and pictures of the Princess left by adoring fans.
The brothers toured the site on Wednesday and laid flowers on behalf of well-wishers who had gathered to see the royals.
William and Harry also met representatives of charities their mother supported and the Prince told them how her death was a tragedy for them – as they were preparing to work with the royal – as well as his family.
He said: “I can imagine for a lot of you it was like ‘right here we go, now we’ve got her, we’ve got the thirst, we’ve got the attention, now let’s do something’ then suddenly she’s snapped away – if I can put it (this way) all of us lost somebody.”
The Princess will also be remembered at East London’s Mildmay Mission Aids hospital, visited regularly by Diana when it was a hospice caring for HIV patients.
The institution will hold a remembrance service and past members of staff will share their memories of Diana as will the hospital’s patron, actress Linda Robson, and dancer Wayne Sleep who famously performed with the Princess.
Diana was a woman whose warmth, compassion and empathy for those she met earned her the description the “people’s princess”.
William and Harry have spoken candidly about their mother in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of her death, describing the personal anguish they experienced and the grief they still feel.
Harry, interviewed for an ITV documentary about his mother, said: ”There’s not a day that William and I don’t wish that she was … still around.
”And we wonder what kind of a mother she would be now, and what kind of a public role she would have, and what a difference she would be making.”
Former prime minister Tony Blair called Diana the ”people’s princess” on the day she died and in a magazine interview with his former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, William echoed the words of his brother.
He said: ”I think she would have carried on, really getting stuck into various causes and making change.
”If you look at some of the issues she focused on, leprosy, Aids, landmines, she went for some tough areas. She would have carried on with that.”
On Tuesday, William and Harry read floral tributes left by the public in memory of People’s Princess Diana on the 20th anniversary of her death.
It was a poignant echo of 1997 when the grieving princes first stood amid bouquets at Kensington Palace.
Prince Harry summed up the public’s abiding love for his mum Princess Diana — saying that when she died “all of us lost somebody”.
Harry’s moving tribute on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death came as he and William visited a memorial garden planted in her memory.
They were joined by Kate as they met officials from the many charities supported by Diana during their tour of the White Garden at Kensington Palace.
William told Royal Marsden hospital’s chief executive Cally Palmer how he and his brother are inspired by their mum’s example.
He said: “We try to follow her example in being ourselves and listening. It’s amazing what listening can do — and she was a good listener.”
Harry was told of the massive impact Diana’s loss had on causes she represented — including leprosy, Aids, homelessness and landmines.
He said: “I can imagine for a lot of you it was like, ‘Right here we go, now we’ve got her, we’ve got the thirst, we’ve got the attention, now let’s do something’.
“Then suddenly she’s snapped away. If I can put it this way — all of us lost somebody.”
In the White Garden, they heard of the careful work done to transform the existing Sunken Garden into a Diana memorial, which opened in the spring.
Kate, 35, wore a floral Diana-style Prada dress as she walked through the area where the People’s Princess spent many peaceful moments.
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PRINCESS Charlotte is already learning ballet aged just two — following in Diana’s footsteps.
The revelation came as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met members of the English National Ballet, one of his mother’s favourite causes.
They were told that she raised so much cash for the organisation that numerous productions would not have happened without her support.
The Duchess, 35, said it could have a future ballet star in the making in Charlotte. She said: “She absolutely loves it.”
William also recalled of his mother: “She loved dancing, she was a fantastic dancer.”
The Duchess said of the transformation: “It does look really different, I love the semi wildness.”
Harry was so delighted by the garden he told staff he would like some of the plants moved to his own plot at Kensington Palace so he could tend them.
He also asked the charity officials to share some of their memories of Diana, saying: “Tell me a story about my mum.”
William told Graham Dillamore, who helped create the White Garden: “We’re thrilled – 20 years on it feels so appropriate. We used to come here a lot.”
The princes also made an unscheduled detour to see floral tributes left by the public at Kensington Palace’s gates to mark the anniversary.
Remembering Diana
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It was a poignant echo of the heartbreaking scene 20 years ago when the bewildered young princes stood among the thousands of bouquets left at the gates.
The memories came flooding back — with William reminding his brother how in 1997 the flowers had stretched 100 yards or more to the main road.
He said: “Last time, it was all the way down.”
But there was plenty of evidence yesterday that the public’s love for Diana is undimmed two decades on — evidenced by the hundreds of well-wishers who had travelled from as far away as Australia to pay their respects.
The princes laid some bouquets on behalf of people in the crowd.
Harry placed blooms for Gracie Oxby, eight, and her sister Maisy, ten, of Langdon Hill, Essex.
Gracie said: “He took the flowers and asked us who we were and where we had come from and asked us where we wanted him to lay the flowers. I’m shaking with excitement still.”
Mum Rhian, 40, added: “Their mother was just a legend — she meant so much to everybody and touched so many people.
“She is such an important figure even 20 years after her death.”
