Diana, Princess of Wales will be honored with a blue plaque outside the west London flat where she lived before marrying Prince Charles, it has been announced.
English Heritage, which manages more than 400 historic houses and monuments, said it would erect the medallion in what would have been Diana’s 60th year, after officials in London’s local government body nominated her for commemoration.
It will be placed outside Coleherne Court, a block of apartments in Kensington where Diana lived with friends between 1979 and 1981, her brother Charles Spencer announced Thursday. Diana left her flat after becoming engaged to Prince Charles.
Blue plaques commemorate places in London where historically significant people lived or worked. More than 950 official plaques are displayed around the UK’s capital, but the vast majority are dedicated to men and English Heritage has sought to redress the gender imbalance in recent years.
Spencer thanked the organization for the plaque on Thursday, tweeting the design of the monument and a picture of its creation.
“How very lovely that this blue plaque will be going up outside Coleherne Court,” he wrote, calling the building “such a very happy place for Diana.”
“We are expecting our plaque to Diana, Princess of Wales to be very popular,” Anna Eavis, English Heritage’s curatorial director, added in a statement.”
She was an inspiration and cultural icon to many, raising awareness of issues including landmines and homelessness, and helping to destigmatise illnesses such as HIV, leprosy and depression,” Eavis said.
“It seems fitting that we should erect a plaque commemorating her work and influence in what would have been her 60th year.”
