Harry arrives for reunion with William at Diana statue unveiling

Prince Harry has arrived at Kensington Palace to be reunited with his brother William where together they will unveil a statue of their beloved mother on her birthday after a tumultuous 18 months for their own relationship.   

The siblings are marking Princess Diana's 60th birthday by unveiling a sculpture created in her honour by Ian Rank-Broadley and placed in the remodelled gardens their mother loved all packed with 4,000 of her favourite plants and flowers. 

Crowds gathered outside from dawn with Diana's fans travelling from all over the UK to west London for the poignant and private commemorative event today, with Harry arriving at 1.45pm - 45 minutes before the grand unveiling - and just after his uncle Earl Spencer arrived with Diana's two sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.

The brothers are said to have barely spoken and have an 'incredibly strained' relationship after two years of rows over Harry's wife and her alleged treatment of staff, the couple's decision to emigrate to America and the tonnes of 'truth bombs' the Sussexes have dropped in TV interviews watched by tens of millions of people around the world. 

Harry and Meghan believe they were abandoned by the Royal Family, even accusing them of racism towards Archie and ignoring their cries for help when the Duchess of Sussex felt lonely and suicidal while pregnant in London. 

But as if beating Germany wasn't amazing enough, the England football team appears to have achieved the near unthinkable. For it seems the stunning 2-0 victory has helped bring about a thaw in the icy relations between Princes William and Harry, sparking a flurry of messages between them after the match.  

Sources close to their uncle Earl Spencer, who is at today's statue unveiling, have said that there is a hope that the celebration of their mother's life and legacy will bring them together again. Prince Charles and the Queen, who is in Scotland, will not attend the Spencer-dominated event.  

MailOnline can reveal that the Diana statue has been in situ for more than a week after being lifted into a crate during the early hours of the morning. The much-anticipated sculpture is currently boxed up and hidden away from prying eyes in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace.

Omid Scobie, the Sussexes' preferred royal reporter, has played down the idea of a public reconciliation when they unveil the statue this afternoon.  

Harry and William have been working together on the project since 2017 - but Mr Scobie has said they both vehemently believe today is about their mother - and not them. He said: 'What we will see is two brothers being professional in a moment that is not about them. This is going to be a moment we see them put everything to one side. We will just see professionalism and nothing else'.

The Diana statue has been in situ for more than a week after being lifted into a crate during the early hours of the morning.

The much-anticipated sculpture is currently boxed up and hidden away from prying eyes in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace.

Staff were today busy erecting screens to stop members of the public and photographers from trying to sneak a glimpse before the official unveiling later this afternoon.

However, a Palace source said: 'The statue has been here for more than a week. But it's inside a crate and cannot be seen.

'It was lifted into the crate by a crane in the early hours of the morning so that nobody was around and it could be kept secret.

'The Sunken Garden, where the statue will be unveiled, has been re-landscaped over the last couple of years to be brought back in to line with the Pond Garden at Hampton Court, on which it's based.

'The Diana statue is the focal point but the work has cost Historic Royal Palaces quite a bit and it's been a struggle to pay because of the pandemic, which closed Kensington Palace - and the other HRP sites - to the public for a number of months.'

The warring brothers have barely exchanged a word since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their acrimonious departure from the Royal Family 18 months ago.

But the Daily Mail understands they have been in contact in recent days ahead of today's unveiling of a statue in memory of their late mother Diana. They are even said to have exchanged a few phone messages over England's win on Tuesday.

While insiders are quick to stress that it is far from a full-scale rapprochement, it is the most positive sign yet that the estranged brothers will be able to put their differences to one side – for today, at least.

'It is still far from good between them,' the source explained. 'But there has apparently been an exchange of messages, particularly about the football, which is a step in the right direction, if only to do honour to their mother.'

William, who is president of the Football Association, attended the match at Wembley with wife Kate and their football-mad eldest son George.

Royal insiders have also told the Mail that Harry, 36, has been told how much the family had been hoping to see his two-year-old son Archie again and look forward to his return to the UK soon. It is believed the Cambridges have seen Archie only once or twice since he was born.

The statue unveiling is three and a half years overdue, in large part due to the collapse in relations between the brothers.

William, 39, is known to be deeply hurt and angry at the way Harry 'pressed the nuclear button' not just on his relationship with the monarchy, but the family itself.

One impeccable source said they 'highly doubted' that the two brothers would ever regain 'even a semblance' of the closeness they once enjoyed.

'Too much water has gone under the bridge for that,' they said. 'Harry and Meghan's decision to burn so many bridges behind them and make such terrible allegations against their family in that infamous Oprah interview, knowing they will never be in a position to defend themselves, has taken its toll. What little trust there was has been well and truly destroyed.'

But the source acknowledged there may be some hope the brothers could eventually paper over their schism, enough at least for their children – who are cousins, after all – to develop some sort of long-distance relationship.

'It would be a great shame if Archie and Lilibet never really got to know George, Charlotte and Louis,' they admitted.

Statue finally takes root in Princess Diana's beloved sunken garden: Princes William and Harry worked with Kensington Palace team to re-design site of statue unveiling... filling it with glorious scented blooms adored by their mother

By Royal Editor For The Daily Mail

A haven of tranquility in bustling London, the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace was one of Princess Diana's favourite spots for reflection.

She would often stop to chat to the head gardener as she returned from her morning jog, complimenting him on the floral displays and sharing a joke.

There is no more fitting place to unveil the only statue ever commissioned of the royal today on what would have been her 60th birthday. 

And it is not only the statue, designed by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, that will provide a lasting memory of the princess, whose life was cut short in a Paris car crash almost 24 years ago. 

Her sons Princes William and Harry have worked closely with the team at Kensington Palace to re-design the garden, filling it with glorious scented blooms loved by their adored mother.

Over 4,000 flowers have been planted, incorporating 50 varieties, including 100 of Diana's favourite Forget-me-nots, 300 tulips and more than 500 lavenders. 

There are more than 200 roses, 100 dahlias and 50 sweet peas. More than 400 metres of turf have been laid to complete the setting. 

The layout and planting scheme was devised by garden designer Pip Morrison. It was then created by the gardens and estates team at charity Historic Royal Palaces.

Work began in October 2019 and since then five gardeners have spent 1,000 hours on planting. 

The garden and statue of Diana will be free to view during palace opening hours from tomorrow, but will be roped off for the unveiling today.

Only William, Harry and a small group of Diana's closest family will be present. 

What had originally been planned as a large celebration to mark her life has now been classed as a 'private event' – largely due to bad blood between the brothers and Harry's determination to control media coverage.

Prince Harry tells Ed Sheeran how fathering Lillibet and Archie is 'definitely a juggle' and says his daughter is 'chilled' while son runs 'around like crazy' on surprise visit to WellChild Awards before meeting brother William at Diana statue unveiling

By Jemma Carr, Paul Thompson, James Gant and Rory Tingle for MailOnline

Prince Harry told Ed Sheeran that fathering Lilibet and Archie is 'definitely a juggle' as he delighted sick children with a surprise visit to the WellChild Awards this afternoon. 

Harry attended the event, which celebrates inspirational young people living with serious illnesses, at Kew Gardens after testing negative for coronavirus following five days of quarantine in Windsor. 

The duke - who has been WellChild's patron since 2007 - mingled with the awards' star-studded lineup, including popstars Ed Sheeran and Anne-Marie, with the latter performing three songs for the delighted winners.

At the socially-distanced garden party and afternoon tea, Sheeran was overheard congratulating Prince Harry on the birth of his daughter Lilibet Diana earlier this month.

The singer, whose wife Cherry Seaborn gave birth to their first child Lyra Antarctica last year, said: 'Congratulations, a girl right? We just had a little girl ten months ago now. You're still in the trenches now. How do you manage with two?'

The Duke of Sussex replied: 'Two is definitely a juggle.'

Speaking to award winners later, Harry described Lilibet as 'very chilled', saying she 'seems happy to just sit there while Archie is running around like crazy', Hello Magazine reports. 

Today's event was originally scheduled for September, but the organisers changed the date to allow the Duke of Sussex to attend while he's in the UK. Harry flew to London from the US on Friday ahead of his awkward reunion with William at tomorrow's unveiling of Diana's statue at Kensington Palace. 

Harry greeted each winner in turn after they accepted their awards on the Sir Joseph Banks Lawn.

Those seen speaking to the duke included  seven-year-old Carmela Chillery-Watson, who won in the inspirational child category. Carmela - who has Congenital Muscular Dystrophy - helped raise more than £50,000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK by completing a series of challenges during lockdown, in spite of the physical limitations brought about by her condition. 

Harry was also pictured speaking to William Cuthill, who won in the inspirational young person category. William - who has Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis which can cause painful joint flare ups - has raised more than £5,000 for the Teapot Trust charity.

He also chatted to schizencephaly-sufferer Luke Fisher, 17, who has been dedicated to his school attendance despite his profound physical disabilities and health conditions. Luke also won an inspirational young person award.

The Duke of Sussex was allowed to leave self-isolation in Windsor after testing negative for coronavirus following his arrival in the UK on Friday. He flew to London for tomorrow's unveiling of Diana's statue at Kensington Palace. 

One guest asked Harry about the statue unveiling, to which the duke replied: 'I'm just so glad we can do it on what would have been her birthday, we weren't sure we would be able to.'

Speaking at the event, Harry said he 'could not be prouder' to be there, adding that now, as a father of two, he feels 'all the more connected, inspired and in awe of the resilience of these families'. 

The Duchess of Sussex - who attended previous years' awards with Harry prior to their emigration to the US - has remained in their California mansion with baby Lilibet and two-year-old Archie. 

The event was hosted outside to allow a gathering of up to 30 people under UK Covid rules. That number can increase 'for the purposes of work or volunteering', official guidelines state.