Diana’s statue

I didn’t like anything about it either. I agree with Dilly, marble would have been better. I hope her sons are happy with it though. I wonder if they had any input?

Beautiful.

I don't think it looks like her and certainly does not capture her warmth and vulnerability. I hope Harry and William are happy with it.......

I am not sure why there seemed to be a need for the statue in the first place and a complete remodelling of the Kensington Palace garden around it, a bit of a waste of money that could have been put into a charity or bursary in her name for young people. It's not as if either of her sons are going to visit it on a regular basis, more of a shrine for her fans many of whom are now getting on in years.

She looks real, happier and not dolled up to the nines and somewhat anorexic.

No statue would be able to capture that special way her face lit up when she smiled.
I actually think that it makes her look older, or maybe that is the point that it should portray her as it is thought she would look at 60?
Whatever anyone thinks, as long as "her boys" and family are pleased, how can anyone else complain?

Perhaps I am the only one here, but I just don`t like statutes of people,, dead people, not dissimilar to grave stones.. but that`s just me.

would have preferred a decent portrait.

Clunky. Not very attractive.

Awful, just awful. Doesn’t look like her and what’s with the children? Is that Harry peeking out fr9m beh8nd.
So muc( hype fo4 such a disappointment. Total waste of money

Based on her last official Christmas card outfit
Statues are never great

Rubbish. She was a slender, elegant and classy woman, not a frumpy big busted housewife in a cardigan. That's me, Not her.

I was disappointed as I had thought it was going to be better than it was.

I prefer equestrian statues.

I agree aggie. The facial expression is all wrong isn’t it?
Surely a skilful, experienced sculptor (which presumably he is) would have been able to capture something of the essence of Diana?

Why wasn’t she looking happy?

I think there’s something very sad about the whole statue, but maybe we are expecting too much as a sculpture can never be as true to life as a painting.

Shropshirelass

No, we weren’t impressed either. Nothing like Diana, looked like a frumpy old Nanny with random children. Such a shame.

She does look old, doesn't she.
Yet she was only 36 when she died

Rather disappointed with the sculpture.

I too was expecting William and Harry to be either side of her. I suspect the boy, who appears to be maybe African by his hair, to have been included to show diversity, but of course I could be wrong.

Whilst being a good work of art, it doesn’t look like or capture the essence of Diana does it?
The children represented are puzzling too, with slightly ragged clothing and bare feet ( she wasn’t Mother Theresa!)

It looks awful, what a disappointment. Her sons were involved so hopefully they are happy with it. I hope so.

I agree with a lot of the previous comments, it looks very manly and facially nothing like her I was very underwhelmed by it.

Hard to believe it is the work of Ian Rank-Broadley. I've seen images of some of his work and the faces are so moving and beautiful. This is awful, has anyone been monitoring it as it went along?

Sorry - got it wrong in my earlier post! Diana was a nursery nurse/nursery assistant when she was very young (19 or so). Also, the children in the sculpture-that-doesn’t-quite-cut-it are older children than nursery age.

It’s so morose ! If they had made them more serene , obviously not inane grins , but why so sad ?

Yes honeyrose.

I have posted on the Royal thread that I think a statue of Diana alone, not flanked by random anonymous children, would have been better.

But hey-ho, nothing to do with any of us really.

Disappointing. My first instinct was that I expected the children in the sculpture to be William and Harry as children and surprised when one figure was a girl. A third child is almost hidden - what’s that all about? Is it supposed to be Diana as a classroom assistant when she was very young? If so, the face and figure are too mature for that. It perhaps would’ve been better if Diana was sculptured as a single figure then maybe more effort could have been put into Diana looking like Diana. I do hope the two Princes like it though and that this unveiling will go some way to help heal the rift between them.

Not a great piece of sculpture.
However watching the unveiling I was so much reminded of the final scene of A Winters Tale, where the statue of Hermione “miraculously” comes to life as it is unveiled, and she and Leontes are reconciled.

Just imagine if Diana could have spoken to her sons…..