A small number of those closest to Princess Diana will attend next week's ceremony honouring her 60th birthday.
Nearly a year ago, Prince William and Prince Harry jointly commissioned a statue of their late mother for the gardens at Kensington Palace. It will finally be unveiled next week on July 1, the 60th anniversary of Diana's birth.
Princess Diana statue ceremony: The guest list
Today, Kensington Palace released a statement confirming the guests for the emotional ceremony. It reads:
"Prince William and Prince Harry will attend a small event to mark the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace on Thursday 1 July.
"In addition to close family of Diana, Princess of Wales, members of the statue committee, the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, and garden designer, Pip Morrison, will also be present."
Given that close family of Diana will attend, we'll likely see the late princess's siblings, Earl Charles Spencer, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Lady Jane Fellowes, and perhaps other family members at the event.
Can you guess?
Diana's 60th birthday: No Duchess Kate, Prince Charles
It was previously thought that Duchess Kate could be involved in the ceremony, but it now appears that won't be the case, based on today's statement. (That is, unless Kate is a member of the statue committee.)
Meanwhile, Prince Charles was expected to be away on July 1, and he may not have been in consideration for the event to begin with.
The guest list announcement came today as Prince Harry also arrived in the UK and is staying in Windsor. He will self-isolate for the next five days at Frogmore Cottage and attend the statue unveiling on the sixth day, July 1.
Princess Diana, who passed away tragically at age 36 back in 1997, would have turned 60 years old next week on July 1.
He's dearly missed...
