Princess Diana at Kensington Palace: 5 Places to See and One You Cannot
The five places at a glance
Everything of Diana at Kensington is outdoors, and none of it needs the palace ticket.
| Place | What it is | Ticket needed? | Open (autumn 2026) | Run by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statue in the Sunken Garden | Bronze by Ian Rank-Broadley, unveiled 2021 | No, free | Daily 10:00–17:45, last entry 17:40 | Historic Royal Palaces |
| The White Garden, from the Cradle Walk | The 1908 garden, replanted for her in 2017 | No, free | Same hours | Historic Royal Palaces |
| Diana Memorial Playground | Galleon and treehouse, reopened 5 August 2026 | No, free; adults only with a child up to 12 | From 10:00; to 17:45 in early October, 16:45 in late October | The Royal Parks |
| Diana Memorial Walk | Seven miles, 90 plaques, four parks | No | Whenever the parks are open | The Royal Parks |
| Diana Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park | 545 pieces of Cornish granite, opened 2004 | No | Closed since a notice dated 1 July 2026 | The Royal Parks |
| Apartments 8 and 9 | Her home from 1981 | Not open to visitors | Never | Private |
Hours checked 30 September 2026.
See the garden walk that stops at the statue
1. The statue in the Sunken Garden
Her sons commissioned the statue in 2017 and it was unveiled on 1 July 2021, the day she would have turned 60. Ian Rank-Broadley made it in bronze at 1.25 times life size, in the dress of her last years. Look for three things when you get there:
- The three children around her, for the generations her work touched.
- The plinth, with her name and the date of the unveiling.
- The paving stone in front, engraved with an extract after the poem The Measure of A Man, from the programme for her 2007 memorial service.
When you can see it
You see the statue from the Cradle Walk and from nowhere else, and it costs you nothing. Historic Royal Palaces lists the garden as open all seven days: 10:00 to 17:45 on the summer listing, with last entry at 17:40, and 10:00 to 16:00 on the winter one. That holds on a day the palace itself is closed, and you need no palace ticket.
2. The White Garden, from the Cradle Walk
The garden is more than a century older than the statue. Edward VII had it laid out in 1908 on the model of the Pond Garden at Hampton Court, with terraces around a central pond. Diana was particularly fond of it. In 2017, twenty years after her death, the palace's gardeners replanted it in white and soft pastels as the White Garden.
It was planted again for the statue. What you look down at is over 4,000 flowers, among them over 500 lavender plants, 300 tulips, over 200 roses and 100 forget-me-nots.
You look in through the arches of a red-twigged lime arbour; you do not walk in. Palace in the Park, the palace's own guided walk, is the one way down inside. It runs on Wednesdays and Sundays until 20 December 2026, on a separate ticket.
3. The Diana Memorial Playground
The playground is next to the palace and free. It opened in 2000 and reopened on 5 August 2026 after a £3 million renewal. If you have children with you, this is what is new:
- a 17-metre by 12-metre galleon on a sandy beach, with two crow's nests
- a treehouse with three towers
- a waterplay area with a crocodile sculpture, switched off on 30 September 2026 under the hosepipe ban
Two rules decide your visit. You are let in only if you are supervising a child up to the age of 12, and adults without children may look in between 9:30 and 10:00 only. On a warm day the queue can start at 10:00, and last entry is 15 minutes before closing. Kensington Palace with kids has the rest of a family day.
4. The Diana Memorial Walk
The walk is seven miles long and marked by 90 plaques set in the ground, each a rose etched in aluminium by the sculptor Alec Peever. It starts and finishes at Kensington Palace and runs through four Royal Parks: St James's Park, The Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. It opened on 30 June 2000. On the way round you pass five buildings:
- Kensington Palace
- Buckingham Palace
- Clarence House
- St James's Palace
- Spencer House
You do not need to walk all seven miles. The plaques around the palace are part of it, and The Royal Parks publishes a map you can download.
5. The Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park
The fountain is in Hyde Park, by the south side of the Serpentine, and the Queen opened it on 6 July 2004. It is made of 545 pieces of Cornish granite. Water runs from the highest point in two directions and meets in a calm pool at the bottom, and you may sit on the edge and put your feet in.
The one you cannot see: her apartments
The Prince and Princess of Wales lived at Kensington after their wedding in 1981, and their sons grew up there. Her home was Apartments 8 and 9. They are private and have never been open to visitors, whatever you book.
A palace ticket opens other rooms:
- the King's State Apartments
- Victoria: A Royal Childhood
- the Jewel Room
- The Last Princesses of Punjab, until 8 November 2026
None of them is a Diana display, so buy the ticket for the rooms, not for her. The palace's own entrance ticket covers your entry and the audio guide, and Kensington Palace room by room shows you what it opens.
Which guided walks stop at the statue?
The statue is free, so a guide sells you the story and the tea table, not the access. Among the Kensington Palace guided tours, these are the ones that put you in front of her:
- The Kensington Palace Gardens Royal High Tea. You get 10 minutes at the garden and Diana's statue, then 45 minutes in the Orangery tea room. It runs two hours from Queensway station, from $172 per person.
- VIP Kensington Palace Gardens Tour & Royal Tea Crown Experience. The statue and the view over the garden are both in the inclusions. Two hours, from $159 per person.
- Private Tour: Royal High Tea At Kensington Palace Gardens. You get 10 minutes at Diana's statue with a guide to yourselves, and it is the only one of these walks that takes a wheelchair. From $275 per person.
- A full royal day. The Changing of the Guard day crosses Hyde Park past the Memorial Fountain, and your fare includes a pre-reserved palace ticket. From $150 per person.
No guide goes into the rooms with you: inside, you use the included audio guide. See the afternoon tea tours for the tables, and the private tours for a walk to yourselves.
How to see all five in one visit
- Start at the statue and the White Garden at 10:00. The garden shuts before the park does.
- Go next door to the playground if you have a child of 12 or under with you.
- Follow the memorial walk plaques east across the park to the Serpentine.
- Finish at the fountain in Hyde Park, once you have checked that it has reopened.
The park opens at 6am and closes at dusk, so you can walk the plaques before or after the garden's hours. To add the palace rooms, opening days and hours has the timetable, and half a day at Kensington Palace gives you the timing.
Princess Diana at Kensington Palace: questions
Is the Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace free to see?
Yes. Historic Royal Palaces lists the Sunken Garden as free, all seven days, and viewed from the Cradle Walk only. It opens at 10:00 and you do not need a palace ticket.
Can you visit Princess Diana's apartment at Kensington Palace?
No. Apartments 8 and 9, her home from 1981, are private and have never been open to visitors. A palace ticket opens the King's State Apartments and the Jewel Room.
Can you walk up to the statue?
No. You view it from the Cradle Walk around the garden, through its arched viewpoints. Palace in the Park, the palace's own walk, is the way down inside, on a separate ticket sold at the on-site ticket office.
Is the Diana Memorial Fountain open?
The Royal Parks closed it under a notice dated 1 July 2026, after a major fault with the water system in Hyde Park. No reopening date is given, so check the fountain's page before you walk over.
Tours that fit this trip
Chosen for what this post covers rather than for what sells.
