Kate, William and Harry take poignant walk through Kensington Palace memorial garden to mark anniversary of Princess Diana's death

Francesca Gillett31 August 2017

Prince Harry acknowledged the overwhelming public love that remains for his mother Princess Diana on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her tragic death, saying when she died "all of us lost somebody."

Harry visited the Princess Diana memorial garden with his brother the Duke of Cambridge, looking over floral tributes to their mother last night.

It comes as fans of the Princess were preparing to gather today to mark the anniversary of her death.

Joined by Kate, the royals toured the White Garden in Kensington Palace yesterday under umbrellas as torrential rain fell.

Britain's Prince William, left, and Prince Harry walk away after placing flowers at the gates of Kensington Palace
AP

The garden is planted with white foliage and flowers in honour of Diana’s life, style and image.

Thursday will mark 20 years since the iconic princess was killed aged 36 in a car crash while travelling with Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul in the Port de l’Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997.

William, Kate and Harry walk through Diana memorial garden

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Ahead of the anniversary, fans have already begun leaving floral tributes and pictures of her at the gates of Kensington Palace.

It comes as major broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 have been airing never-before-seen footage of Diana and interviews with the two grown-up princes reflecting on the tragedy.

Princess Diana and son Harry in 1995.
PA

The appeal remains undiminished and today she is still one of the leading British figures of the 20th century.

The temporary White Garden was opened in spring this year in the palace’s historic sunken garden, which also features pots of classic English white roses surrounding a reflective pool with ornamental grasses weaving through Cosmos daisies.

Gardeners recalled that Diana would stop when passing for a chat about their work creating ever-changing floral displays.

The two princes also visited the floral tributes, messages and photos left in memory of their mother outside her former home of Kensington Palace.

The royal princes stopped to tour the heartfelt tributes left at the gates of the palace.
AP

Speaking to charity bosses about working with Diana and then her death, Prince Harry said: "I can imagine for a lot of you it was like 'right here we go, now we've got her, we've got the thirst, we've got the attention, now let's do something' then suddenly she's snapped away - if I can put it (this way) all of us lost somebody."

The royal brothers had spent an hour touring the temporary memorial White Garden in the grounds of the palace with Kate before making the short journey to the gates, which is fast becoming a shrine to their mother.

Her sons have spoken candidly about their mother for the first time in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of her death, describing the personal anguish they experienced and the grief they still feel.

Diana with sons William, 7, and Harry, 5, in 1989.
PA

Harry, interviewed for an ITV documentary about his mother, said: "There's not a day that William and I don't wish that she was... still around."

20th anniversary of Diana's death

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Diana’s death was met with a national outpouring of grief which until then had been unprecedented for the royal family, with thousands gathering outside Kensington Palace and prompting Tony Blair to call her the “people’s princess”.

During their visit to the White Garden, the royal brothers and Kate were met by head gardener Sean Harkin and be shown some of Diana's favourite flowers.

They also spoke to another gardener who knew Diana from her frequent visits there.

William and Harry also met representatives from the charities supported by Diana in the final years of her life, including Great Ormond Street Hospital, the National Aids Trust, The Leprosy Mission, Royal Marsden Hospital, English National Ballet and Centrepoint.

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