Diana memorial to be REMOVED ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding
A MEMORIAL honouring Princess Diana will be removed as Britain prepares for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.
The bronze sculpture of the Princess of Wales and Dodi Al-Fayed was installed at the famous Harrods store in London after the pair died in a car crash back in 1997.
But now Qatari owners of the department store will hand the 10ft memorial, entitled Innocent Victims, to former owner – and Dodi’s dad – Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Harrods announced the move after Diana’s sons William and Harry approved plans to build a statue of their mum in the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Michael Ward, managing director at Harrods, said: “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al-Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years.
“With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr Al-Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.”
Mr Al-Fayed is now in discussions with the store about when and how the handover will happen.
A statement the Al-Fayed family said: “We are grateful to Qatar Holdings for preserving the Dodi and Diana memorial at Harrods until now.
“It has enabled millions of people to pay their respects and remember these two remarkable people.
“It’s now time to bring them home”
Al-Fayed family
“It is now time to bring them home.”
Mr Al-Fayed erected the shrine at the base of the shop’s Egyptian Escalator soon after the couple’s deaths.
In 2005 he added the statue, designed by Bill Mitchell which shows the pair beneath the wings of an albatross, symbolising freedom and eternity, with the waters of the Mediterranean lapping around their feet.
Source: DAILYSTAR CO UK
Tags: Prince Harry, Prince William, Kensington Palace, Royals
