A life-size statue of Prince Diana and Dodi Fayed, who died together in a Paris car crash in 1997, will soon be displayed at Harrod’s department store in central London, owner Mohamed al Fayed said on Wednesday.
The work, commissioned by al Fayed, shows the couple — who were on vacation together when they died — holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes beneath a soaring albatross — a symbol of eternity and good fortune.
Diana is wearing a dress with a plunging neckline, while Dodi’s shirt is unbuttoned to reveal a bare chest.
The couple and their driver, Henri Paul, died on August 31 1997 when their Mercedes crashed into a pillar in a Paris underpass. The only survivor, Diana’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, was badly hurt.
The new work’s title, Innocent Victims, reflects al Fayed’s belief that his son and the princess were murdered, despite a French inquiry that blamed Paul.
”It is a tribute to what might have been if the couple’s car had not crashed on August 31 1997,” said Bill Mitchell, a Fayed family friend who crafted the work at a foundry in east London. Press photographers were allowed to see it for the first time on Wednesday.
”The affection in which Diana is still held is remarkable, but I knew Dodi and far from being the playboy he was portrayed as, in reality he was a charming, hard-working film producer who had made his own way in life,” he said.
Al Fayed said the bronze statue will allow people to honour the couple’s memory with ”warmth and love”.
An official British inquest into the accident was opened in January, but it adjourned to allow a police investigation led by former metropolitan police commissioner John Stevens. — Sapa-AP