On the eve of their mother's death anniversary, Prince William and Prince Harry carried out an emotional engagement as they paid tribute to Princess Diana at Kensington Palace. The royal brothers, accompanied by William's wife Kate, visited the Sunken Garden in the grounds of the palace which this year has been transformed into a White Garden, dedicated to their mother. William, Kate and Harry were given a tour by head gardener Sean Harkin, along with gardener Graham Dillamore who knew the Princess from her frequent visits there. The royals learnt about the design and planning of the garden and were shown some of Diana's favourite plants.
Kate, William and Harry visited the Princess Diana memorial garden
They then met a few representatives from some of the main charities Diana worked with 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. The group reflected on Diana's achievements, and the legacy of her work which continues to resonate with so many today.
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HELLO! Online visited the White Garden earlier this year in April, where we chatted to Graham. The operations manager, who has been connected to the garden for 35 years, said: "The Princess would often walk past and admire the colours that were appearing in the garden. It was a lovely space and a good time. She was a very friendly lady. I was lucky enough to meet her many, many times in the garden. She was always very complimentary of the work we did, she enjoyed the gardens very much and was very relaxed with us and very informal. She did like a practical joke or two, and sometimes you might be at the end of those, but it was all good fun. We were very lucky."
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Explaining the garden's white theme, Graham added: "We know that Diana liked forget-me-nots. I always felt that she preferred the pastel, lighter colour shades – the whites, the light pinks, the light blues – so I think what we've done here is very fitting."