Princess diana flowers kensington palace

What Kensington Palace Looked Like After Princess Diana's Death

By Marissa Laliberte, RD.com

Mourners flocked to Kensington Palace from all over the world to pay their respects to the People's Princess.

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Photo: Daily Mail/Shutterstock

The world wakes to the tragic news

Princess Diana died tragically in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, leaving the world in shock. Even after divorcing Prince Charles, the People’s Princess had continued capturing the hearts of millions and was regarded as the most famous woman in the world. Mourners visited London’s Kensington Palace immediately, dropping bouquets at the home where Lady Di would never return.

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Photo: Mike Hollist/Daily Mail/Shutterstock

The pilgrimage to London

At the time of the 1997 tragedy, only 10 per cent of Brits had the Internet at home, so commenting on social media or changing a profile picture in memory of Diana wasn’t an option. Instead, mourners had to come to Kensington Palace in person if they wanted to pay their respects publicly, and the amount of support for the late princess was unprecedented.

Here’s how Diana spent the final weeks of her life.

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Outpouring of support

Tens of thousands of bouquets were left at Kensington Palace, creating an impressive pile. The flowers reached 30 feet from the gates.

Take a look back at 30 rarely seen photos of Princess Diana.

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A royal appearance

The royal family—including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, 15-year-old Prince William, and 12-year-old Prince Harry—were in Balmoral, Scotland, when they heard the news about Princess Diana’s death. The royal family stayed there and were criticized for failing to fly a flag at half-mast in London’s Buckingham Palace (it’s custom for no flag to be flown when the Queen is out of town) or giving anything more than a brief statement of sorrow. It wasn’t until five days after Diana’s death that Diana’s grieving sons and ex-husband publicly faced the mourners at Kensington Palace. “It was amazing; it was incredibly moving to know, but at that point, I wasn’t there. I was still in shock,” Prince Harry said in a 2017 interview.

Here’s why William and Harry are haunted by their final conversation with Princess Diana.

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Photo: David Crump/Daily Mail/Shutterstock

Paying their respects

As crowds got bigger, London set up orderly queues. At times it took 6.5 hours to reach the gates of St. James’s Palace, where mourners could leave flowers and sign the books of condolences that were eventually moved to Kensington Palace.

Find out what happened to the only survivor of Princess Diana’s car accident.

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Bouquets and beyond

Aside from the flowers, admirers also left stuffed animals, handwritten notes, and original poems in the late princess’s honour. “I will miss your poise, your compassion and most of all your ability to be yourself and do what you believe in,” wrote one visitor.

Take a look back at Princess Diana’s most memorable quotes.

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Photo: Rick Bowmer/AP/Shutterstock

Turning to anger

A relentless paparazzi chase in Paris was often blamed for Princess Diana’s death. Her driver raced away at high speeds, trying to shake off photographers—and he ended up crashing outside a tunnel. That resentment toward the media continued long after Diana’s death. Some photographers were criticized for taking pictures of the tributes, with crowds calling, “You killed her.”

Here are 13 times Princess Diana’s body language told the whole story.

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Photo: Jamie Wiseman/Daily Mail/Shutterstock

Silent streets

On the day of Princess Diana’s funeral, more than a million mourners lined the streets between Kensington Palace and Westminster Abbey to watch the procession. Despite the large numbers, the streets stayed silent as the coffin made its way to the funeral. Not even planes were heard, as they’d been rerouted for the event. Princes Charles, William, Harry, and Philip joined Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, in walking behind the coffin.

Next, check out 10 fascinating facts about Princess Diana most people don’t know.

Originally Published on Reader's Digest

Princess Diana Flowers at Buckingham Palace

This morning, after touring Princess Diana's memorial garden, Prince William and Prince Harry stopped to leave bouquets from the crowd at the gates of Kensington Palace. On the eve of the anniversary of their mother's death, people have started to leave flowers and cards in tribute to the late princess, much like they did twenty years ago.

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Back in 1997, the first mourners arrived outside Kensington Palace before dawn. News of Diana's fatal car crash had reached the U.K. in the middle of the night, and the response in London and throughout Great Britain was spontaneous and overwhelming. Mourners wept—and they paid tribute.

"I just feel disbelief more than shock," Fiona von Schank, a student who brought two roses to leave at Kensington Palace, told CNN on August 31, 1997. "It's amazing that this woman who finally seemed to have just about found some happiness has now died so tragically."

The unexpected displays of public grief by the stereotypically stiff-upper-lipped Brits continued in the days between Diana's death and her funeral, with people standing in line to sign books of condolence—at their peak, wait times lasted 12 hours—and creating impromptu memorials not only at Diana's home residence of Kensington Palace, but also Buckingham Palace, and St James Palace, where her body was taken upon arrival from Paris.

The blanket of flowers left outside Kensington Palace from above.

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In the recent documentary Diana, Our Mother, Prince Harry, who was just 12 at the time of his mother's passing recalled, "It was very, very strange after her death, the sort of outpouring of love and emotion from so many people that had never even met her."

And it was an outpouring of raw emotion. People were seen crying, wailing even, in sorrow, and according to officials, 10 to15 tons of bouquets and 60 million flowers were left in honor of Diana around London. Candles, stuffed animals, flags, photographs, and personal notes were also left.

Prince Charles alongside Prince William and Prince Harry looking at the tributes to Princess Diana.

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People needed to do something with their heartache, to leave a physical marker indicating their love for Diana, a performative act of grief that was almost contagious.

"It's completely unprecedented. It's an occasion that is unique possibly in the history of the world and certainly in anyone's experience here," David Welch of the Royal Parks service, who eventually helped with the cleanup, said at the time.

The sea of blooms remained for over a week, growing steadily. During Diana's funeral on September 6, the hearse had to use its wipers to remove stems that were thrown at the windshield as it carried the coffin from Westminster Abbey to Diana's final resting place in Althorp. At one point, it even had to pull over to remove the flowers.

But the impromptu memorials were temporary, and by September 11, volunteers began cleaning up the unplanned tributes. According to CNN, decaying blooms were used as compost in the Kensington Palace gardens, while still-fresh blooms were sent to hospitals and nursing homes, and toys were donated to children in need, something the Princess surely would have loved.

Photo research by Jenny Newman.

Princess Diana's sons unveiled a statue of their mother in the garden of Kensington Palace /TASS/.

The sons of British Princess Diana (1961-1997) Princes William and Harry unveiled a statue dedicated to their mother on Thursday in the garden of Kensington Palace in London. The broadcast of the solemn and very intimate ceremony, timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the birth of the first wife of the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, was broadcast by the Sky News channel. nine0003

Sign of reconciliation?

The unveiling of the statue, commissioned by the brothers back in 2017, is overshadowed by a spat within the family of Queen Elizabeth II. In 2020, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle renounced the status of senior members of the royal family and moved to the United States, deciding to secure their financial and personal independence. After that, they gave several scandalous interviews, accusing the members of the royal family and their entourage of racism, coldness and indifference to the problems of spouses.

Surrounded by thousands of flowers

The place for the statue of Diana was chosen in the inner garden of Kensington Palace, which is called the Sunken Garden, with a rectangular pond in the middle. The garden, laid out in 1908 by King Edward VII (1841-1910), was redesigned and planted with flowers especially for today's date. According to garden designer Pip Mirison, who led the process, the Sunken Garden was "any place for Diana" on the grounds of Kensington Palace. nine0003

"We have worked with great care to ensure that the new layout and seating scheme complements the statue, creating a quiet space for people who come to Kensington Palace to remember the princess," he said.

Altogether, the remodeling of the garden took about a thousand hours. More than 4,000 of the princess' favorite flowers were planted, including over 200 roses in five varieties, 300 tulips in three varieties, 100 forget-me-nots, over 500 lavender bushes and over 100 dahlias.

People's Princess

Princess Diana died in a car accident on 31 August 1997 in Paris. About her, her charitable work and a high-profile divorce from the heir to the throne, many books have been written and dozens of films have been shot. In 2002, according to a BBC poll, Diana was ranked third in the list of great Britons, ahead of Queen Elizabeth II and other British monarchs.

The continued popularity of Diana, who during her lifetime was called the people's princess, is evidenced by the numerous portraits of Her Highness, British flags and balloons that the British brought to the fence of Kensington Palace. As reported on the website of the royal residence, where Prince William lives with his wife and children, in connection with the ceremony, the palace itself and the entire garden surrounding it will not be available to visitors on Thursday, but will reopen the doors on Friday. nine0003

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United Kingdom Diana, Princess of WalesWilliam, Prince of WalesHarry, Duke of Sussex

Princess Style Evolution

Diana: the story of her style. Kensington Palace, London.

February 24, 2017 - December 31, 2018

On my birthday in 1997, it was reported on news channels that Diana, Princess of Wales, and her companion Dodi al-Fayed, the son of the former owner of the Egyptian mwerer Harrods Mohammed al-Fayed died in a car accident in France in a tunnel near the Alma bridge in Paris. I was seven years old at the time, the first news sensation in my memory, and I well remember how the BBC broadcaster delayed all the broadcasts scheduled for that day. The news seemed to excite everyone around, but especially my mother, which surprised me, since she had not shown any interest in the royal family before. I remember how in later years she bought books and souvenirs dedicated to the princess, such as a special series of postage stamps. When I questioned my peers, they all responded in the same way, pointing out that women from their families were especially upset by the news of Princess Diana's death. One colleague recounted how her mother, a staunch anti-monarchist, took her to Althorp, the family home of Princess Diana's family, to lay flowers at her grave. Another recalled how her parents met her and her sister that day and asked, with an expression of sadness and confusion on their faces, “Did you hear the news? Diana is dead." nine0003

The expression of national grief was unprecedented, with over 32 million viewers across the UK watching the funeral, the highest number of viewers in British television history (Douglas 2012). Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, this exhibition, Diana: The Story of Her Style, tells the story of the life of a woman who has become the legendary embodiment of an irresistible celebrity, an elegant aristocrat, an authoritative activist, a charismatic figure and her own person. in the world of fashion, and how these aspects of her personality were reflected in the way she dressed. nine0003

Diana: The Story of Her Style is the third exhibition at the Pigott Gallery at Kensington Palace since it reopened on March 26, 2012, thanks to the Historic Royal Palaces charity, following a massive £12 million renovation. This renovation turned out to be an important milestone in the social life of this place. The original decision to make Kensington Palace open to the public was taken by Queen Victoria (1819–1901) shortly after her Diamond Jubilee celebration[1] in 1897 year. The restoration coincided with the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926), which was celebrated in the wake of the patriotic upsurge associated with the London Olympics, both of which the UK celebrated in 2012. The exhibition site provides the perfect setting for the display, as Princess Diana lived here for sixteen years. After her funeral on September 6, 1997, the palace was opened around the clock so that 136,000 visitors in mourning could leave an entry in the book of condolences (Anon. 2017). Perhaps there is nothing surprising in the fact that before getting to the exhibition, you have to wait an average of about forty minutes. nine0003

Diana: The Story of Her Style succeeded the exhibition Fashion on the Throne: Dresses from the Collections of Her Royal Majesty, Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales, which opened in July 2013, and Fashion on the Throne: A New Look, reimagined and an expanded version of this exhibition, which opened in February 2016. Previous exhibitions, which featured exhibits from the permanent collection of the royal dress, showed how members of the royal family, including Princess Diana, managed to dress in fashion within the rules of the royal court. The current exhibition, which serves as a kind of prologue, deepens this theme, given that everything that Princess Diana wore became the subject of intense interest. nine0003

Anne Edwards, author of The Queen's Wardrobe, states: “From the day she was baptized… the future queen had less freedom in choosing her clothes than many of her subjects. There were many restrictions, although cost was not one of them” (Edwards 1977: 11). The exhibition "Fashion on the Throne" made it clear that the young monarch obeyed these rules, preparing in the future for the performance of embassy duties and foreign trips as head of the Commonwealth. The Queen maintained a long tradition of "diplomatic dress" by wearing gowns whose designs and trims were in reference to the host state. This can be seen in the dress designed by Norman Hartnell, in which Her Majesty the Queen attended a banquet hosted by Pakistani President Ayub Khan at 1961 years old. The design of the dress features the colors of the Pakistani flag and is tailored to show the royal orders on the chest.

However, the exhibition "Fashion on the throne" showed that not only the Queen was expected to meet certain aesthetic criteria. The theme of diplomatic etiquette in dress continued in the 1980s room, where four of Princess Diana's costumes were displayed. A dainty cherry red low-waisted dress designed by London-based fashion designer Bruce Oldfield was deemed appropriate for a visit to Saudi Arabia at 1986, considering his modest long sleeves and long skirt. The asymmetrical, pink-beaded, straight-cut ivory satin dress was worn by the princess while traveling in Brazil shortly before the 1990 World Cup final. This neutral choice was due to the reluctance to use any of the colors of the Brazilian or Argentine football team and give the impression that they sympathize with one of them.

The accompanying text before entering the exhibition "Diana: the history of her style" notes that the press discussed the smallest detail of her life and appearance. In response, she carefully considered her public image and learned to turn clothes into a means of communication with people around the world, through which she won them over to her. As fashion designer Jasper Conran says: “When the princess discussed her costumes with me, she invariably asked herself: ‘If I wear this, what will it mean?’” For her, clothes really had their own language. The “charm of a queen” was combined in her with the charm of an “international celebrity”, and the key theme of the exhibition is an attempt to trace how she, with her unique status, kept herself in public, how she built her image, communicating with people and achieving important goals for her. nine0003

The exhibition is organized thematically rather than chronologically, with five miniature halls presenting different stages. The exposition consists of twenty-five costumes, magazine covers and several sketches. The exhibition, which begins with a nod to Diana's first appearances in 1981, traces the princess' style evolution from modest romantic dresses before marriage, to the bold, flamboyant style of the Di dynasty in the 1980s, to the charm, elegance and confidence of her life outside the royal family. Eleri Lynn, curator of the exhibition "Diana: the history of her style", says:

“Our exhibition tells the story of a young woman who had to learn the rules of court and diplomatic etiquette in dress in a short time ... We see how she gains confidence over the course of her life, gaining more control over how others portray her, and consciously endows his clothes with a certain meaning.

However, the young lady Diana Spencer was unfamiliar with the world of designer fashion, as explained in the introductory text on the wall of the hall. Her wardrobe consisted of "a single dress, a blouse and a pair of trendy shoes", "she borrowed the rest from her friends". After her engagement to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales at 19In 81, fashion designers were invited to Diana, and her everyday wardrobe began to appear. The first dresses she chose responded to the romantic spirit of the early 1980s, and she often opted for light colors, lace and flowy fabrics.

In a square showcase in the center of the first - main - hall, there are five barely visible mannequins dressed in long pastel-colored dresses. Each dress comes with a tag and a photo of Princess Diana wearing the outfit. The first one is light blue, strapless, with a nylon lace sheath and velvet ribbons. In this outfit, the princess appeared during her debut at the ball at 1979 year. In the photo next to her, she is shown awkwardly seated in a deep armchair and casually leafing through a magazine. Also shown here is a light pink satin evening gown designed by Katherine Walker, with long sleeves, collar and cuffs in white undyed silk. In this dress, Princess Diana posed for a formal portrait in 1987. In the photo, she sits modestly next to the Prince of Wales.

The next section, The Work Atelier, focuses on Diana's patronage of British fashion designers. According to designer Roland Klein, “Her credibility was very high; she introduced London fashion and London fashion designers to the general public." Her elegant wardrobe drew attention to British fashion around the world, but at the same time, the princess's close interaction with the biggest designers helped to shape her own image. As fashion designer Bruce Oldfield noted, “Wearing her was not at all like dressing a diva attending chic parties. This meant dressing a young woman who ... relied on us to support her chosen direct course. When she ordered a model, the designers prepared sketches, which they then showed her, some of which are included in the exhibition. Framed sketches by Bellville Sassoon, Roland Klein and Emanuel hang on the walls, with notes from Princess Diana suggesting changes or highlighting details she particularly likes. nine0003

When visitors enter the Going Out section in the hallway, they are presented with a display case containing three of Diana's most memorable outfits from her first public appearances. Wearing a pale pink Emanuel chiffon blouse with a satin ribbon around the neck, Lady Diana Spencer posed for her first official Vogue portrait in 1981, photographed by Lord Snowdon. This publication, which referred to her as a "rising star", coincided with the announcement of the engagement. After that, blouses "a la Lady Di" became a kind of fashion, and their likeness "sold out quickly on the main street of the city." Next to the airy blouse is a brown casual tweed suit by Bill Pashley, which Diana wore during her honeymoon at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at 1981 year. This rural aesthetic is in contrast to the plaid green and black wool Emanuel suit she wore on an official visit to Venice in 1985. The loose-fitting suit, wide at the shoulders, with lapels wider than usual, looked fashionable for those times, but the accompanying text says that "the press was critical" and the princess never wore this suit again. This is one of the few surviving examples of the princess' everyday clothes, only recently rediscovered and acquired as part of the Historic Royal Palaces project at an auction. This exhibit is on display for the first time. nine0003

Across from these costumes is a wall that features magazines such as British Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Esquire, featuring Princess Diana on the cover. Since the announcement of the engagement, news about the princess has been in high demand, and her photo on the cover of any magazine could increase its popularity by 40%.

As one of the most photographed women in history, Princess Diana quickly learned the unwritten rules of court dress. She said in 1985: "You won't believe the things you have to worry about starting with something as obvious as the wind... and you have to raise your hand to hold flowers, so you can't wear anything too revealing or too short." The sections "Spotlight" and "Business wardrobe" show that the princess was well acquainted with the etiquette of traditional court dress, but at the same time she often broke conventions by choosing unexpected costumes. Shown here is an evening gown in black lace and purple silk designed by Victor Edelstein, worn by the princess during her official visit to Germany at 1987 year. Despite the fact that she had a large amount of royal jewels, Diana matched this dress with a long string of imitation pearls. Another dress, from 1986, with a black velvet bodice and red silk taffeta skirt, she wore with one red and one black glove. This combination created something of a sensation in the media.

In addition to unexpected combinations in clothes, she often violated court etiquette: for example, she became the first woman from the royal family to be photographed at an evening reception in trousers; in addition, she often wore black, traditionally associated with mourning. She also often did not wear gloves, because she wanted to touch the interlocutor's hand directly when shaking hands; also, according to hatmaker Philip Somerville, "she never wore a hat when visiting a hospital because she said it was impossible to hug a child when you had a hat on." She dressed with a deliberate casualness that was supposed to indicate openness, and it was these small deviations from the rules and the humanity behind them that won her the titles of "people's princess" and "queen of hearts" in the media. nine0003

Diana thought over her image largely on the basis of the understanding that she would be photographed and many costumes would fall into the lens. Her initial fascination with frills faded when she realized they didn't look good in pictures. Attire such as Katherine Walker's burgundy silk velvet evening gown paired with a frock-coat-like design embroidered with a delicate floral pattern speaks of a deliberate decision. The accompanying text says that because "the princess was photographed from every angle wherever she appeared," she "turned it to her advantage" and chose models that could be "admired from all sides." Katherine Walker's other ensemble, a strapless white silk crepe dress and a high neckline jacket embroidered with sequins and pearls, flattered her face with soft light. Although the press disapproved of it as an "Elvis-style dress", believing that the abundance of decorative elements gives it a resemblance to the costumes in which Presley performed in Las Vegas, Walker noted that the princess "shone in this dress, and the dress shone on her" . nine0003

In December 1992, after several turbulent years of marriage, the Prince and Princess of Wales announced that they had decided to separate. Although the official divorce did not follow until 1996, the princess began to be less in public, combining "a significant role in society with greater freedom of private life." Although Princess Diana was now free from court duties, she remained popular and used the unrelenting media interest in her to draw attention to various humanitarian issues. However, curator Eleri Lynn said she was surprised how few records of her speech exist. According to her, “the Diana we think we know is looking at us from static photos,” and the clothes “say a lot about the princess,” because it is “a language that she herself has mastered in order to communicate with others.” In her new capacity, Princess Diana strove for greater external simplicity; she acquired an on-duty wardrobe of dresses and suits to replace. The princess stated that she wanted to be known about her love of work, and not of dress; she stopped wearing the elegant dresses of the past decade. “When she discovered Catherine Walker,” says fashion designer Jasper Conran, “she found what she was looking for.” Together they created a complete image of Princess Diana and came up with, in Walker's words, her "royal form", a practical style close to the simplicity of a men's suit. In this section of the exhibition, featuring models designed by Catherine Walker, we see the red casual single-breasted suit that Princess Diana wore to a charity event at 19'96, and a similar pale pink outfit she wore to the Daily Star's 1997 Medal of Courage and Bravery ceremony. The only model in the exhibition that the princess did not wear to formal occasions was a casual blue dress by Catherine Walker, in which Diana shopped on Bond Street in central London in 1997.

In the center of the last hall - this section is simply called "Diana" - there is a cylindrical showcase. It features five costumes illustrating a new stage in the evolution of Princess Diana's style until her untimely death on August 31, 1997 years. Four photographs of the princess hang on the wall next to these outfits. These photographs of a smiling Diana, taken by Mario Testino, were published in Vanity Fair magazine in July 1997. In one of the photos, she is wearing a beaded black silk velvet Catherine Walker gown, which she previously wore to a UNESCO charity event in 1994. Walker recalls that this was the first "sexy" dress she created for the princess, and the fashion world was enthusiastic about her new style. The most memorable of the models presented here is a silk dress from Versace in ice blue, decorated in the Aztec style. Patrick Demarchelier wore this dress to photograph Diana for Harper's Bazaar. While she was the Princess of Wales, she wore British brands, but after separating from her husband and freeing herself from court duties, she began working with foreign fashion designers. nine0003

On the wall at the exit of the exhibition, various fashion designers, such as David Sassoon, Caroline Charles and Bruce Oldfield, praise the princess. David Thomas is quoted as saying: "She did everything gracefully and charmingly"; Valentino claims that "all fashion designers were inspired by her image"; according to Donna Karan, “she was the personification of what is meant when people talk about idols. She chose the role and performed it with taste and grace." The fact that Princess Diana successfully shaped her image is evidenced by the very fact that so many took her death so close to heart. Many continue to believe that they somehow knew her, although they had never met her and had not even heard her voice. nine0003

Admission also includes admission to the King's Apartments, the Queen's Apartments, and the permanent exhibition "Victoria Candid," similarly narrating the restrictions the young Queen Victoria faced while living in Kensington Palace, her childhood home, and the strange contributory alienation of the rules that members of the royal family had to obey. There is also a temporary garden in honor of Princess Diana, who, when this palace was her residence, admired the changing flower landscapes of the historic garden and often stopped to talk with the gardeners tending to him.