Princess Diana statue is 'bland and lifeless' says commentator

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The Princess of Wales was honoured in a new way this week when her sons, Princes William and Harry, unveiled a statue of their late mother in her favourite spot — Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden. In a stripped-back ceremony, the estranged brothers came together to mark what would have been Diana’s 60th birthday on Thursday and reveal this new tribute. The large statue shows the Princess of Wales in a later period of her life with short cropped hair, and her hands resting on two children while a third child stands slightly behind her.

But, the highly-anticipated artwork — first commissioned by her sons back in 2017, on the 20th anniversary of her tragic death — has divided royal spheres.

Critic Jonathan Jones pulled it apart in a review entitled: “An awkward, lifeless shrine — the Diana statue is a spiritless hunk of nonsense.”

He said: “It is a religious image that shamelessly plays up to the most mawkish aspects of Diana worship.

“She deserves to be remembered.

“But does she need to be turned into a colossal divine protectress of all children?”

He conceded that this may be the way Diana is remembered by her two sons, but claimed that the sculpture itself resembled “the art of a new religion”.

He also noted that by portraying Diana as a maternal figure shielding children, the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley was evoking famous images of the Virgin Mary so often seen throughout Christian art.

Writing in The Guardian, Mr Jones claimed: “Even without that specific allusion the image of mother and child has been a Catholic mainstay for over a millennium and before that featured in Egyptian religious art.

“So this sculpture invites us to see Diana as a modern Mary, or even Isis with her son Horus.”

But, Kensington Palace also unpacked the meaning behind the statue, and explained: “It was based on the final period of her life in her role as an ambassador for humanitarian causes and aims to convey her character and compassion.”

Still, Mr Jones’ criticism touched on a fear recently expressed by royal sources.

As the statue is the first major public focal point for the late Princess of Wales’ fans since her death in 1997, there have been growing concerns that it could be turned into a shrine.

The public were even urged not to leave flowers at the base of the bronze statue to avoid turning it into a place of worship, or pilgrimage.

A royal source told The Telegraph last week: “Any flowers or tributes left there will be removed and placed at the golden gates, where they have always been permitted.

“There is a strong desire that this does not become a shrine.”

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Despite the Palace’s wishes, many royal fans have already flocked to the statue just days after its reveal, laying flowers, balloons and photographs of the late Princess to honour her birthday last week.

Some were dressed in their best outfits, while others sang commemorative songs and praised Diana’s humanitarian work.

However, not all royal watchers were impressed with the artwork, with many taking to Twitter to say the sculpture “doesn’t look like her very much”, while others even condemned it as “ugly”.

Conservator teams from Historic Royal Palaces will be looking after the statue as they are already tasked with keeping an eye on the existing tributes to King William III and Queen Victoria.

The security team of Kensington Palace, which patrols the royal estate 24 hours a day, will also check no harm comes to the sculptor while extra staff will monitor the Kensington Gardens when open to the public.

Harry and William reportedly commissioned the statue after a series of issues arose with the £3.6million Diana Memorial Fountain in London’s Hyde Park.

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