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On Thursday,Prince WilliamandPrince Harryreunited at Kensington Palace to unveil a long-awaited statue ofPrincess Dianainthe Sunken Garden, one of her favorite havens in London. So who is Ian Rank-Broadley, man behind the sculpture?
The acclaimed artist has produced the likeness ofQueen Elizabethfeatured on all U.K. and Commonwealth coins since 1998, and his royal roots are deep.
But Rank-Broadley’s connection to the royals goes back to 1976 when he graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art and won the Royal Mint competition for a new effigy of the Queen for all British coinage in 1997, hiswebsite states.
He would go on to win the mint’s design contests for the Queen Mother Centennial crown coin in 1998, and Queen’s Golden Jubilee crown coin and medal in 2001. In creating the commemorative coin for the jubilee celebrations, he was awarded the firstOlin-Stones prizefrom the Society of Portrait Sculptors in 2003.
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Four years later, Rank-Broadley completed another prestigious commission and created two bronze sculpture groups at the center of theArmed Forces Memorial, unveiled in 2007. The memorial, within the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, honors the 16,000 military men and women of the British Armed Forces killed in the line of duty since WWII.
A decade later, it was announced thatPrince WilliamandPrince Harryhad specially commissioned Rank-Broadley to create a statue of Princess Diana to stand in the garden of her former home. 2017 was a year of many commemorations of Diana’s life, as it marked 20 years since she died in a car crash in Paris at age 36.
Prince William and Prince Harry unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Gardens.Alamy Stock Photo
“Ian is an extremely gifted sculptor and we know that he will create a fitting and lasting tribute to our mother,” the princes said in a joint statement released toPEOPLEat the time. “We look forward to unveiling the statue, which will allow all those who visit Kensington Palace to remember and celebrate her life and legacy.”
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At the unveiling on Thursday, Rank-Broadley told reporters: “Uppermost in my mind was to do something for the princes, the princess was a very public figure and in many respects an icon — but she was somebody’s mother. So I paid the greatest heed to both princes in what they had to say.”
He continued, “In many ways it was a collaborative effort. … They described their mother and in many ways there were private moments that were related – one certainly got the feeling she was an enormous amount of fun and [loved] playing jokes.”
“They made a huge contribution,” he added of William and Harry. “I could say the sculpture belongs to them as well — they helped make it.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Rank-Broadley added, “It is my sole and highest intention to fulfill the expectations of Their Royal Highnesses in creating a lasting and fitting memorial to their late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.”
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The princes formed a committee with one of Diana’s sisters, some friends, experts and charity contacts to choose a fitting tribute. Thoughroyal sources saidlast summer that the design stages had been progressing well, the installation was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, the long-awaited effigy has been unveiled on what would have been Diana’s 60th birthday.
Princess Diana, Prince Harry and Prince William.Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty
On Friday, Kensington Palace released new details about the ceremony, officially confirming William and Harry’s reunion. The Duke of Sussexmade the flight from California to the U.K.last week and isolate at Frogmore Cottage for a few days beforeattending a charity gathering for the WellChild children’s charity, of which he is patron.
Rank-Broadley joined the brothers, some of Princess Diana’s close family members, statue committee members, and Sunken Garden designer Pip Morrison for thegrand unveiling.
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The statue was “commissioned to mark the twentieth anniversary of her death and recognize her positive impact in the UK and around the world,” the palace said in astatementlast year.
The statement continued, “The Princes hope that the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy.”
source: people.com
