'It was her very happy place': Earl Spencer welcomes plans for blue plaque to honour his sister Princess Diana at her former flat
- Earl Spencer described his sister's home in Earl’s Court as a 'very happy place'
- Princess Diana lived there before marrying Prince Charles at St Paul's in 1981
- He welcome plans to honour her life and legacy with a blue plaque at the flat
- He tweeted a mocked-up image of the memorial tablet and a picture of the final piece, while thanking English Heritage for commemorating it Princess Diana’s brother has welcomed plans to honour her life and legacy with a blue plaque, which is expected to go up at her former flat.
Earl Spencer described his sister’s home in Earl’s Court, west London, as a ‘very happy place for Diana’ where she lived before marrying Prince Charles.
Tweeting a mocked-up image of the memorial tablet and a picture of the final piece being created, he wrote: ‘How very lovely that this blue plaque will be going up outside Coleherne Court – thank you, @EnglishHeritage for commemorating such a very happy place for Diana in this way.’
English Heritage, which is erecting the tablet, said that Diana has remained ‘an inspiration and a cultural icon to many’.
Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer has welcomed plans to honour her life and legacy with a blue plaque, which is expected to go up at her former flat. Pictured left: A a mocked-up image of the memorial tablet. Right: Lady Diana Spencer outside her flat in Coleherne Court, Kensington, London, 1980
She is one of six women to be commemorated with a plaque this year and is the highest profile former royal to be given one.
The flat, where she lived with friends between 1979 and 1981, was bought for her by her parents when she was 18. She described living there as ‘the happiest time of her life’, according to biographer Andrew Morton.
Anna Eavis, English Heritage’s curatorial director, said the princess’ campaigns to highlight issues like HIV/Aids and landmines, and her enduring appeal as ‘an inspiration and cultural icon to many’, were deciding factors.Ms Eavis said: “Her profile and popularity remains undiminished nearly 25 years after she died and clearly a part of that was the ease with which she seemed to communicate with everybody.
“I think what appealed to the panel when they were considering her nomination was she’s undeniably a significant figure in late 20th century Britain, with a close London association obviously.
“She did undeniably play an important role in destigmatising HIV/Aids and also towards the very end of her life campaigned in those anti-landmine campaigns which was also very important.”
Tweeting a mocked-up image of the memorial tablet and a picture of the final piece being created, Earl Spencer wrote: ‘How very lovely that this blue plaque will be going up outside Coleherne Court – thank you, @EnglishHeritage for commemorating such a very happy place for Diana in this way.’
English Heritage, which is erecting the tablet, said that Diana has remained ‘an inspiration and a cultural icon to many’, and thanked the Earl for his 'kind words'
Diana is being recognised during a year when she would have celebrated her 60th birthday. She died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
English Heritage has also announced the names of five other leading women who will be recognised with a blue plaque.
The plaque recognising crystallographer and peace campaigner Dame Kathleen Lonsdale will be unveiled on Thursday, 50 years after her death, at her former home in east London.
Later in the year, others will be erected to fashion designer Jean Muir, anti-slavery campaigner and former slave Ellen Craft, barrister Helena Normanton and social reformer Caroline Norton.
No comments: