Here's why Prince Charles will NOT attend Diana's statue unveiling
Prince Charles will not be attending the unveiling of his ex-wife Princess Diana's statue on what would have been her 60th birth anniversary on July 1 in a ceremony scheduled to take place at the Kensington Palace because he does not want to dredge up old "sad" and "regretful" memories.
Thursday's event, which will see the feuding royal brothers, princes Harry and Willliam, honoring their late mother, has already been drastically scaled back due to the Covid-19 protocol from the original guest list which was supposed to include around 100 guests. And now, an insider revealed to The Times that the Prince of Wales will not be attending the ceremony.
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'Charles will leave the boys to it'
“He does find it terribly difficult,” the insider said. “These moments have the potential to resurface old wounds, and it brings back memories for him; happy, sad, regretful. Since Diana’s death, he has felt it’s best to keep those memories to himself and leave his sons to it.” His absence was kind of expected as royal fans are well aware how allegations of an extramarital affair tore Charles and Diana apart. Just a year before the People's Princess lost her life in a Paris car crash, she divorced from her husband in 1996.
According to the Sun, Charles has a trip to Scotland planned and will not be in London when Diana's statue is unveiled. "Charles will leave the boys to it. Harry will need to quarantine for at least five days when he lands in England, most likely at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor," an anonymous source told the publication. "Charles has made it quite clear he will not be around beyond that because he is going to Scotland. There is no planned meeting between the three of them."
Kate Middleton's attendance also uncertain
According to Daily Mail, Kensington Palace revealed recently that Kate Middleton might not be on the guest list for the ceremony either. The palace said the princes will now be joined only by Diana's close family, the statue committee, the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley and garden designer Pip Morrison. Although not confirmed yet, Kate's expected absence could mean that there would be no mediator to increase the chances of a reconciliation between the estranged brothers, who have not been on talking terms ever since the Duke of Sussex quit the monarchy last year.
Princess Diana's biographer Andrew Morton previously told Insider that Harry has a long way to go before reconciling with his father and Prince William. "You don't say that your brother's trapped and your father's trapped in the institution, which you were born into, and expect everyone to be all sweet," Morton said, referencing comments made by the duke during the Oprah Winfrey interview in March.
William and Harry have also “insisted” on giving separate speeches at the statue unveiling as their reported feud continues. “Diana said to me quite clearly on several occasions that she saw Harry as the wingman for William in what would be a very solitary, somber job as future king,” Morton, said. “She would have been very upset at the way these two have split apart.”
