Princes William and Harry choose sculptor for Princess Diana statue

In this photo, taken Aug. 9, 1987, Britain’s Princess Diana of Wales smiles as she sits with her sons, Princes Harry, front, and William, on the steps of the Royal Palace on the island of Mallorca, Spain, where the British Royal family is on holiday with the Spanish King Juan Carlos and his family. It has been 20 years since the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris and the outpouring of grief that followed the death of the “people’s princess.” (Photo by JOHN REDMAN / AP)

LONDON (AP) — Kensington Palace says Princes William and Harry have chosen sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley to create a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.

Rank-Broadley, whose image of Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on British coins since 1998, will complete the work by 2019. The statue will be placed on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where Diana once lived.

FILE – In this Tuesday, Jan. 14, 1997 file photo, Diana, Princess of Wales, talks to amputees, at the the Neves Bendinha Orthopedic Workshop on the outskirts of Luanda, Angola. (AP Photo/Joao Silva, File)

The princes said in a statement Sunday that the statue is meant to create “a fitting and lasting tribute to our mother” and to remember her life and legacy.

The princes added they had been touched by the kind words and memories shared with them about Diana this year, as the world recalled her death in a Paris car accident in 1997. NVG

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