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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU - Princess Diana new statue

788 replies

ForeverAintEnough3 · 01/07/2021 15:31

She was a style icon yet she’s in one of those frumpy waist belts that were only in fashion briefly. The face does nothing to represent how beautiful she was. It’s too harsh.

OP posts:
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29
Bubbles90 · 02/07/2021 18:14

very underwhelming.

AliceLivesHere · 02/07/2021 18:17

I imagine her 2 sons approved it. Surely that's the important bit?

Namechangerextraordinaire1 · 02/07/2021 18:21

I think it's fine personally. Looks fairly like her and her style. I am really surprised by how many agree with you actually!!

Bard6817 · 02/07/2021 18:24

It’s rubbish. Doesn’t really look like her, and as for the two random kids, is a bit insensitive to her actual kids who don’t feature.

Confused0904 · 02/07/2021 18:28

Aahhh the subtle mumsnet racism!

Diverseopinions · 02/07/2021 18:29

It's possible that the Princes, or one of them, suggested alterations and contributed to the vision, after the plans had been formulated, and it was hard for the sculpture to do what was desired.

A straightforward, formal, official dress portrait in bronze is always going to be easiest. Elegant flowing garments. Well, the above applies to representational sculpture. They could have commissioned something more abstract and modern ( like a Moore or Drink) and that might have captured the informal,
joyful and sunny presence of Diana in an amorphous way.

Passenger42 · 02/07/2021 18:29

Someone on Facebook commented that it looked like Claire Balding which made me Lol 😂

Toddlerteaplease · 02/07/2021 18:31

@stairway

I would have put her in that land mine outfit she famously war.
I thought that was what it was at first. Then realised it wasn't.
LalalalalalaLand123 · 02/07/2021 18:35

It is (sadly) truly awful, in so many ways. Giant shoulders and chest, very masculine, doesn't look like Diana at all. Very hard facial expression, no hint of a smile. As one reviewer said, there's something very Soviet about it. To me it just doesn't evoke Diana in any way.
I agree with PP who would have used her land mine outfit.
But after the disaster with Maggi Hambling's hideous nude statute in memory of Mary Wollstonecraft, I guess I should just be glad that Diana's statue has been given clothes.

Victoria319 · 02/07/2021 18:36

I don't think it's especially flattering. But I don't think the medium helps. Is it Bronze? I always thinks that looks hard, usually with sharp edges etc, I think it's the way it's cast.
I think something stone or marble that could be carved and smoothed would have better caught her likeness and also her nature, rather than the sort of dark, spikiness of this offering.

And I don't understand the children. Is it meant to be Harry and William or not? If it is then it doesn't look like them!! And if it's the 'world's children' then there should have been more, and different heights/ages, to represent that.
And her clothes! It can't have been easy to cast those clothes, with the collar, and the pleats, and that belt... but it's just... I don't think I've ever seen a photo of her wearing something like that. And it seems like they spent more effort on the clothes than they did on her face or hair!!

And people saying that it's 3D and it's hard to model a face from photos etc. It's not, not nowadays, madame tussards can and do make waxworks without people having castings (can you imagine the Queen having that goop poured all over her for instance?) and must do so from photographs. I'm sure there are enough photographs of Diana out there, a decent computer whizz with a 3D modelling programme... could have blooming 3D printed a better likeness....

I'm glad Harry and William came together to reveal it. But I think the statue has missed the mark rather.
Just my opinion obviously, and I'm quite sure Harry and William wouldn't have signed off on something they weren't happy with, so they must be, and that's all that really matters. They're the only two people whose opinion actually matters here, really.

But no, you're not being unreasonable! X

peppermintpat · 02/07/2021 18:37

I like it. Don't love it but it's ok. Not sure I would have bothered with a statue at all but a nice painting.

MarshaBradyo · 02/07/2021 18:37

@LalalalalalaLand123

It is (sadly) truly awful, in so many ways. Giant shoulders and chest, very masculine, doesn't look like Diana at all. Very hard facial expression, no hint of a smile. As one reviewer said, there's something very Soviet about it. To me it just doesn't evoke Diana in any way. I agree with PP who would have used her land mine outfit. But after the disaster with Maggi Hambling's hideous nude statute in memory of Mary Wollstonecraft, I guess I should just be glad that Diana's statue has been given clothes.
Just looked at the Hambling sculpture. She gets a lot of gigs considering

What an odd form

Frankieirish · 02/07/2021 18:37

What is all this deification of Diana? Yes, it's sad that a young mother died so tragically, but so many young mothers that I know of have died, tragically, since her passing - cancer (I know two who are currently fighting for life) and other causes. Get hold of a back copy of Private Eye, covering the death - and mass hysteria that followed, they do a before- after page of 'journalists'(sic) comments, example - a week before her passing: "who is this spoilt mannequin, destroying our previous royal family (I'm paraphrasing here, but you get the gist) - a week later, same scribe: " the heavens have gained a new star"
If we want to celebrate 'saints', let's put statues up to those selfless people often with very little themselves, who run food banks (I doubt the princess ever went hungry) or are poorly paid carers - I know one, and what she does daily...with a smile. The statue is a waste of money

Nanalisa60 · 02/07/2021 18:49

It’s the waist that’s wrong, Diana was such a tall slim woman!!

TMC7 · 02/07/2021 19:02

Totally agree about the outfit!!

Fivetimes · 02/07/2021 19:02

It was meant to look nothing like her, so everyone would talk about the statute and not Harry and Meghan.

Bebethany · 02/07/2021 19:03

What an insult to the artist! It’s not rubbish and there’s 3 kids!

Moonwhite · 02/07/2021 19:05

Perhaps it was based on a private photograph. For a bronze statue - they rarely look good - it at least looks like her.

calvados · 02/07/2021 19:07

Goes to show that the princes are clueless! Their mother’s exquisite and slender grace is absent in this bulky and dull effigy that falls short of the mark. They should have all gone back to the drawing board. Major fail aesthetically.

ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia · 02/07/2021 19:07

Very underwhelming statues if not for the positive symbolism. Of all the potential possibilities to have a wow factor work of art and this is the combined final disappointing result.

The exiled one literally jet in across the globe to hide for a few days then pop up for a few minutes to do the absolute minimum necessary. Naturally not so much to minimise Covid contact but more avoidance of all other senior royals within walking distance. Pointless exercise sending a clear strong message more by omission than the lack of communication or waste of opportunity to maximise utility of intercontinental "essential" trip from an ecology preacher. Seemingly this was a brief ultra high carbon footprint fake show of family time and unity for media taking away the core message concerning their much loved mother. Possibly the most popular of recent senior royals until her "mysterious" termination in an overseas tunnel.

stayathomer · 02/07/2021 19:07

Nobody will ever know if her children are happy with it surely? I mean if I wasn't happy with it and saying that I was unhappy meant that somebody's career was destroyed I wouldn't say it. I agree with people who say the kids by her side should have been William and Harry

Localocal · 02/07/2021 19:08

I think it is a poor effort. It doesn't look like her, and I don't understand why the random children. If I were William and Harry I would be wondering why she is posed with other people's children instead of her own. Yes, she loved children in general, which is wonderful, but by all accounts she loved being a mother more than any official work she did. Plus she is just standing there with her arms around them and looks as disengaged from them as they do from her. With all the thousands of photos of her interacting with children with great joy, I'm not sure why they chose to represent her this way.

I've actually never gotten DIana-mania, but I feel this statue really lets down those to whom she meant a great deal. It does not capture her brave ownership of her emotions, her kindness or her work.

starlight13 · 02/07/2021 19:12

It's very disappointing in so many ways. A bit of an embarrassment to them surely? I mean for one, look at the size /scale of the children to Diana. It just doesn't look right - their heads are tiny. Her style here is awful, she looks like a man and is really chunky. What a way to represent her.

AL75 · 02/07/2021 19:15

Awful statue, looks nothing like her. It looks very masculine and almost politician like as it is a very serious face, nothing like the warm beautiful smiley princess we knew and loved. I don’t understand how the prince’s agreed to this as it does not look like her at all or symbolise her in any way. Is that how they saw her ? As some stern faced looking women with no warm feeling? Very sad that they chose this statue, almost disrespectful to her

WhyNotNow21 · 02/07/2021 19:17

What a sad affair. The whole thing. Poor Diana and her poor poor children. Awful. Seeing the two boys staring up at her for a brief moment after the unveiling. Utterly utterly tragic. Nothing has changed and the warring continues on....

William barely looked at Harry, in fact many of the people there barely spoke to him. He looked like a spare wheel, despite his attempts to be smiley and cheery. He is no longer welcome. I'm not sure he'll return again for quite a few years now.