Thousands of Princess Diana fans gather at Kensington Palace to pay tribute to the beloved ‘people’s princess’ 27 years on from her tragic death in Paris.
Well-wishers have placed flowers, flags and photographs of the late Diana Spencer on the golden gates to the south of the West London royal home.
The scene is expected to mirror the sea of flowers which emerged after Diana’s death on August 31, 1997.
The touching tribute marks the 27th anniversary of Diana’s death in Paris – where she was killed in a car crash alongside Dodi Al Fayed and chaffeur Henri Paul.
Despite efforts to save her, Diana was pronounced dead at 4:00 a.m French time on August 30, 1997, after suffering from a stroke in La Pitié Salpêtriére Hospital, Paris.
The poignant anniversary comes in the week that Diana’s sons William and Harry again showed the world how far apart they are – by not exchanging a single word at their uncle’s funeral.
+17
View gallery
Royal fans decorate the gates of Kensington Palace with Princess Diana memorabilia
+17
View gallery
A poster of Diana reads: ‘No one spread more love in one lifetime than Princess Diana’
+17
1997: Thousands of tributes form a ‘sea of flowers’ outside Kensington Palace’s Golden Gates following Diana’s death
Today pictures of Diana adorn the gates of Kensington Palace, with one poster reading: ‘No one spread more love in one lifetime than Princess Diana.’
Another reads: ‘Her work continues through her loving sons Prince William and Prince Harry.’
Just two days ago, the brothers attended a memorial service for their uncle Lord Fellowes.
But a source told the Sun they did not exchange a single word despite being ‘only five yards from each other’.
William and Harry were said to have been sat ‘two or three rows back from the front’ and were positioned on ‘opposite sides of he aisle’ with family members in the ‘rest of the seats between them’, the newspaper reported.
Former councillor David Hocking, 93, who was at the service, said ‘it was very sad’ to see the Princes apart and told The Times, ‘I hope they got talking at the reception’ – which Mr Hocking says he did not attend.
He also claimed that Harry and William were both very discreet at the service and that ‘if you didn’t know they were there you might not recognise them’.
+17
View gallery
A picture of Diana Spencer adorns the gate of Kensington Palace today – 27 years on from her tragic death
+17
View gallery
People walk their dogs past Kensington Palace where touching tributes have been laid out for the late Princess Diana
+17
View gallery
The last ever photo taken of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed in the Mercedes car in which they were killed a short time later, on August 31, 1997
+17
View gallery
The wreckage of the car that killed Diana was taken out of the Alma underpass
+17
View gallery
The ambulance that took Princess Diana to the hospital on the night of the crash
+17
View gallery
Princess Diana’s coffin arrives at RAF Northolt after being flown from Paris
+17
View gallery
A young Prince William and Harry attend their mother’s funeral in September 1997
+17
View gallery
Prince William and Harry at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana at Kensington Palace in July 2021. The event was attended by Lady Jane Fellowes, wife of Lord Fellowes
+17
View gallery
Prince William and Prince Harry stood ‘virtually back to back’ while they chatted with mourners at their uncle’s funeral on Thursday, a witness has claimed. The brothers are pictured at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana at Kensington Palace in July 2021
+17
View gallery
The interior of St Mary’s Church in Snettisham is pictured Friday, the day after the funeral
2004: Princes William and Harry with their uncle Robert Fellowes
British Red Cross has led the tributes for Princess Diana.
In a post on X, the charity said: ‘Today on the anniversary of her death, we pay tribute to Princess Diana’s work as a dedicated humanitarian.
‘As an active supporter of the Red Cross, she championed our work both in the UK and overseas. Thank you.’
The National AIDS Trust wrote: ‘The legacy of Princess Diana, our late patron, continues to shine brightly 27 years after her death.
‘She was an icon of compassion, kindness and dedication to humanitarian causes. She saw the people behind the stigma and discrimination, and helped change public perceptions.’
On 9 April 1987, at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Princess Diana agreed to open Britain’s first specialist unit for patients with the disease at the London Middlesex Hospital.
At a time of great fear and uncertainty about HIV, which was then being demonised as the ‘gay plague’, the Princess was secretly determined that her visit would have far more impact than the usual Royal ribbon-cutting exercise.
With her dazzling smile and unforgettable star quality, the Princess of Wales strolled through the unit in private, talking to staff and patients alike. Crucially, she shook hands with them all.
+17
View gallery
Ivan Cohen, agreed to be photographed, but only on condition that the picture was taken from behind him – with only his back in shot. So in April 1987, with the press and TV cameras trained on her, Princess Diana sat down at the bedside of a gay man who had been diagnosed with AIDS – and publicly shook his hand
Prince William: ‘I didn’t want mum’s legacy to go to waste’
Former Editor-in-Chief of the best-selling gay magazine Attitude also took to social media to share a picture of her shaking the hands of AIDS patients as a tribute to Diana, who he described as a ‘diamond of a woman’.
He penned: ‘It’s the anniversary of Diana’s death today. I’ll never forget this absolute diamond of a woman.
‘Another of the greatest things the UK has ever had destroyed by the media. Rest in peace.
