Princess Diana memorial garden opened at Kensington Palace to mark 20th anniversary of death

'The White Garden' is in full bloom and is inspired by the Princess' life and style
Francesca Gillett13 April 2017

A stunning memorial garden to mark 20 years since Princess Diana's death has been opened at Kensington Palace in time for the summer.

Marking two decades since her death, the White Garden has opened at the princess's former home, where her sons Prince Harry and the Duke of Cambridge, his wife the Duchess and their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, now live.

The White Garden's flowers and foliage have been inspired by memories of Diana's life, style and image, such as her white "Elvis" Catherine Walker dress, currently on display inside Kensington Palace.

Formerly the Sunken Garden, it can be viewed from a public walkway and will be at its best until September.

The White Garden celebrates the life of Princess Diana - In pictures

1/12

Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the princess's death, head gardener Sean Harkin said previous gardeners have told him stories about how Diana expressed an interest in the garden.

He said: "Kensington Palace was the home of Princess Diana for 15 years and there's gardeners who aren't here any more but remember, and told me stories, about when they were working here in the Sunken Garden.

"And they remember Princess Diana coming by and she would stop and she would admire the changing floral displays in the garden.

"And we change them over in springtime and in summer, so it can look quite different.

Blossoms in the White Garden at Kensington Palace, where Diana's two sons live now.
PA

"She would stop and she would have a chat with the gardeners and comment on all their hard work."

Recalling one particular story, he said: "I remember there was another gardener who told me a story about when he was walking along with a wheelbarrow with a fellow gardener. It's really embarrassing, but he tripped.

A gardener in the White Garden at Kensington Palace created to celebrate the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.
PA

"He kind of fell over. It was over-weighted, the wheelbarrow, so everything kind of spilled everywhere.

"And Princess Diana was going by and turned around and said 'Bad luck, chaps', and kind of gave a smile.

"And they kind of smiled and found it really quite funny, but also it's quite embarrassing when that happens."

The White Garden, already open and free to the public, commemorates the 20 years since the princess died in a Paris car crash when William was 15 and Harry just 12.

Diana was synonymous with the west London palace and mourners flocked to the residence in the aftermath of her death in August 1997 to leave a mass of flowers.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in