‘She’s gone but not forgotten’: Royal fans gather as Princess Diana statue unveiled

‘She was just so beautiful – I’m definitely in the Princess Diana camp’

It was a private affair, but the prospect of a reconciliation between William and Harry drew onlookers from all over the UK to be outside Kensington Palace during the unveiling of the statue of Princess Diana.

Well-wishers began turning up hours before the unveiling to lay flowers, balloons and photographs of the late Princess of Wales, who would have turned 60 on Thursday.

Some looked as though they were off to a party dressed in their best outfits, while others stood outside the palace gates debating what William and Harry might say.

One group who travelled from Cardiff burst into song, belting out God Save the Queen, earning some applause from others gathered in Kensington Gardens.

As the moment of the unveiling drew closer, a hush fell.

Anne Daley, dressed as smartly as the official royal guests, was ready and waiting outside the park gates to be let in at 5am.

She had travelled from Cardiff and claims to have been the first person to rush down and lay flowers the day Diana died, almost 24 years ago.

“I used to see Diana a lot out and about and down The Passage because I used to work there,” she told The Independent on a row of benches adorned with Welsh flags, birthday balloons and paintings sent by the ‘Diana African Society’ from Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

“She used to bring the princes down, she was a wonderful mother.

Kat Singam (right) pictured with friend Sanae Hanai said Princess Diana ‘makes you want to be a better person' (The Independent)

“I got a phone call from my mother [the day Diana died] so I ran up here and laid some flowers and before you knew it the world’s media were here.

“Only the taxi drivers were around because it was about 5 or 5.30am in the morning.

“I was crying, the taxi drivers were crying, the scaffolders were crying.”

Kat Singam, from Epping, Essex, said Diana made her “want to be a better person”.

“She’s gone but not forgotten,” she said, visibly emotional. “We all love her, we want to show support to both William and Harry. Though we can’t see it we can still feel that we’re part of it.

“If she hadn’t been there as princess, there’s lots of things that wouldn’t have been noticed like people with HIV wouldn’t have been accepted, people who had landmines in Angola – she’s given a lot to a lot of people.

“She’s touched my life and I haven’t even met her, and it makes you want to be a better person.”

Margaret Tyler, who has been following the royal family since she was a young girl and has a room dedicated to Diana in her home, complete with a carpet the princess once walked on, said simply: “I’m just here because it’s Diana.”

Margaret Tyler, 77, from Wembley, who says she is often described as Princess Diana’s ‘number one fan’ (The Independent)

The 77-year-old, from Wembley, north London, who said she is often described as Diana’s ‘number one fan’, added: “I did meet her once and I made a sort of a rosette and it had her photograph on it and she saw me with it on and she threw back her head and laughed and said ‘oh you have got it bad’ and I was just over the moon.

“I had a room built when she died to turn into a shrine for her. Sometimes people knock on my door and say can they come in and just sit there and look at things but it is chock-a-block now. It’s so full I need another one.”

Eric and Merybell Chapman were up at the crack of dawn to travel down from Leicester to ‘drink in the atmosphere’ (The Independent )

Eric and Merybell Chapman booked the day off work and travelled down from Leicester at the crack of dawn.

“I’m a big Princess Diana fan and I like the royals as a whole,” said Ms Chapman. “She was just so beautiful – I’m definitely in the Princess Diana camp. Really I just wanted to be here to drink in the atmosphere.”

Mr Chapman added: “I’ve been a royalist all my life. I think it’s good for the country, and I think it makes the UK stand out from the other countries.

“Diana helped to drag the royal family into the 20th century and I’m hoping some of the others can come into the frame and help out.”

Caroline Makepeace, from Shoreditch, London, who visits Kensington Palace every year for Diana’s birthday (The Independent)

Caroline Makepeace, from Shoreditch, east London, who’s been a fan of Diana “since she first came into the royal family”, said she was disappointed at the turnout.

“I know there’s a virus going round but I did expect a lot more [people] so I was a bit disappointed with that turnout to be honest,” she said.

“I went to the wedding, I went to the funeral, I come back every year when it’s 31 August.

“I’ve come here today for her 60th birthday and the statue, even though we can’t see it. I’m just a fan, I’ve always been a fan, she was a lovely lady, and she connected with people.”