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PRINCES William and Harry are planning a charity “super concert” to honour the
memory of their late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
The event is envisaged for July 1 next year at the new Wembley stadium. The
date would have been her 46th birthday and comes a few weeks before the 10th
anniversary of her death on August 31.
Although the concert and its line-up have not been confirmed, fans of the
princess are likely to wonder whether Sir Elton John will reprise Candle In
the Wind, which he sang at her funeral.
Other stars who are being considered include Beyoncé, Kylie Minogue and George
Michael. The princes are expected to be on hand to host the event in front
of a worldwide television audience likely to reach hundreds of millions.
The new Wembley is still being completed at a cost of some £800m but is due to
be opened for the FA Cup final in May. It has been plagued by delays.
Paddy Harverson, the Prince of Wales’s communications secretary, said a formal
announcement would be made on the concert before the end of this year.
“The princes are considering a number of possible options for how they would
like to remember their mother,” said Harverson. “This is just one
possibility among several and I would not like to go into any more detail
while discussions are ongoing.”
Managers at Wembley, which will be the largest roofed stadium in Europe, hope
the concert will boost the venue’s profile in its launch year and give a
positive worldwide image for British engineering in advance of the 2012
London Olympics.
John’s performance at Diana’s funeral on September 6, 1997, watched by more
than one billion people worldwide, provided one of its most memorable
moments. Candle In the Wind went on to become the greatest-selling CD single
of all time.
However, the princes are said to want the concert to be an “upbeat, joyous
tribute” to their mother’s life and work, with any proceeds going to a
selection of charitable organisations.
Diana’s best-known campaigns included work to ban landmines and help counter
prejudice against Aids victims.
Centrepoint, the homeless charity, was also a favourite of the princess and
could receive a portion of the proceeds, although her sons have yet to
decide which charities would benefit.
The princes’ plans are understood to have the full backing of their father.
Diana died following a crash in the Pont de L’Alma road tunnel in Paris along
with Dodi Fayed, the son of Mohamed al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods and
Fulham football club.
Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes car, was also killed but Fayed’s
bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, who was the closest to the point of impact,
survived. He was the only occupant of the car wearing a seatbelt.
William and Harry are said to be keen for the anniversary to be a celebration
of Diana’s life rather than a reason to dwell on the continuing controversy
surrounding the fatal crash. However, interest in her death is set to be
revived in the next few months.
Shortly before Christmas, Lady Butler-Sloss, a former lord justice of appeal
who is to conduct the inquests into the deaths of Diana and Dodi, will
receive a report into the incident being prepared by Lord Stevens, the
former Metropolitan police commissioner.
Stevens’s inquiry is piecing together some 20,000 documents and 1,500 witness
statements. After reading his report, Butler-Sloss will decide whether to
hold joint or separate inquests. Hearings are expected to begin early in the
new year.
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