Princes William, Harry To Appear Separately At Event Honoring Diana

Prince William and Prince Harry will separately take part in an event on Thursday honoring their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

William, the Prince of Wales, will attend the Diana Legacy Awards ceremony in London, where he is expected to give a speech marking the charity’s 25th anniversary, according to Kensington Palace.

A video message from his brother Harry, the Duke of Sussex, will also be broadcast – but after William has left the event, PA Media reported, citing local press.

While the pair are not expected to collaborate on any part of proceedings, the appearances nonetheless mark one of the few occasions in which they have taken part in the same event since Harry quit royal duties.

William’s appearance meanwhile comes amid frenzied speculation about the status and wellbeing of Catherine, Princess of Wales, which intensified after Kensington Palace released a family photo featuring her that was later revealed to have been digitally altered.

Kate has not been seen in public for months following an abdominal operation at a London hospital that the palace said was planned, but which necessitated her diary to be cleared of upcoming events due to a lengthy recovery period.

The palace might have hoped that Sunday’s photo, released to mark Mother’s Day, would quell the increasingly widespread confusion and concern about the princess.

But it instead caused a firestorm of controversy after international photo agencies withdrew it, expressing concern it had been digitally manipulated.

Kate took responsibility, apologizing for what she said was an “experiment” with photo editing. But her brief statement did not explain why and how she had edited the image, and no new pictures of the princess have been issued since.

The Diana Legacy Awards are held every other year, and recognize young leaders in the name of William and Harry’s late mother, Diana.

They were established two years after Diana’s death in a 1997 car crash in Paris.

William is expected to meet the award winners after the event on Thursday. Harry’s reported contribution will be made virtually; the duke lives in the United States, following his split from the working royals in 2020 alongside his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Since then, the brothers’ relationship has become increasingly frosty. Harry wrote in his memoir “Spare” that William attacked him during an argument, and called his elder brother “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.”

They have appeared together at royal events marking the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III, and on occasion at events related to Diana’s legacy, but have otherwise rarely crossed paths in public.

By CNN