Prince William and Harry select Queen's coin artist to sculpt memorial to Diana
When he created one of the most famous images of the Queen in existence, he declared there was "no need to flatter" her by making her look anything less than her true likeness.
Artist Ian Rank-Broadley will now turn his eye and hand to Diana, Princess of Wales, as her sons announce they have commissioned him to make her official memorial statue.
A statue of the late Princess is to be erected in the public grounds of her former home of Kensington Palace, creating a "fitting and lasting tribute" to her life, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry have announced.
After a careful search involving a committee of advisors and the Princess' closest friends, the Duke and Prince today confirm the artist they have selected. In a joint statement, the Duke and Prince said: "We have been touched by the kind words and memories so many people have shared about our mother over these past few months.
"It is clear the significance of her work is still felt by many in the UK and across the world, even twenty years after her death.
"Ian is an extremely gifted sculptor and we know that he will create a fitting and lasting tribute to our mother.
"We look forward to unveiling the statue, which will allow all those who visit Kensington Palace to remember and celebrate her life and legacy."
Rank-Broadley, responding to the announcement, said: "It is my sole and highest intention to fulfil the expectations of Their Royal Highnesses in creating a lasting and fitting memorial to their late mother Diana, Princess of Wales."
The design for the statue will now be perfected in collaboration between the artist, the Princes and their committee, and is due to be completed and unveiled in 2019.
The brothers are understood to be particularly keen on seeing a true likeness of their late mother, a style Rank-Broadley is famous for.
His effigy of the Queen appeared on all UK coins from 1998 onwards, and was the fourth of five designs for the currency during her reign.
At the time, the picture was both praised and criticised for its realistic approach, with some claiming it made the then-70-year-old Queen appear tired or "grumpy".
Then, Rank-Broadley said there was "no need to disguise the matureness of the Queen's years", adding: "There is no need to flatter her. She is a 70-year-old woman with poise and bearing."
The Duke and Prince first announced plans for the statue in January, saying "time is right to recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world with a permanent statue".
It will be the first statue of Diana made with input from her sons, and is intended to become a site for her admirers to visit.
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The Princess's grave is on an island at her family seat, Althorp, Northants, where it cannot be accessed by the public. Other tributes to her have included the Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, which cost £3.6m and was beset by problems when it opened in 2004.
This August, the Princes commemorated the 20th anniversary of their mother's death with a memorial White Garden, on the same grounds they had played in as children in Kensington Palace.
In making their decision, the Duke and Prince convened a committee including the Princess's oldest sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale; Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the Princes' former private secretary and godfather to Prince George; John Barnes, chief executive of Historic Royal Palaces; Gerry Farrell, an art gallery owner and a friend of Diana; Guy Monson, a City fund manager and trustee of the Invictus Games and the Royal Foundation, and Julia Samuel, one of the Princess's closest friends and godmother of Prince George.
As well as creating the Queen's effigy, Ian Rank-Broadley has work in the Royal Collection, National Portrait Gallery, Ashmolean Museum, and the Rijksmuseum, and is known for sculptures including the Armed Forces Memorial, numerous commemorative statues of national figures and one unique private commission entitled "Lord Rochester, his Whore and a Monkey".
