Princes William, Harry Issue Rare Joint Statement About Princess Diana Amid Rift Rumors

Prince Harry and Prince William came together for a rare joint statement days before the death anniversary of their mom, Princess Diana.

Prince Harry and Prince William have been forging their own paths since separating their households following the Duke of Sussex's marriage to Meghan Markle. But amid rumors of a rift between them, the two brothers recently put their differences aside to announce their plans for a statue to commemorate their late mother.

"The statue will be installed in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace on 1st July 2021, marking The Princess’s 60th birthday," their announcement read, Us Weekly reported.

"The Princes hope that the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy," the statement from Kensington Palace continued.

The statue of Princess Diana was commissioned in 2017 by the Duke of Sussex and Duke of Cambridge to mark the late Princess of Wales' 20th death anniversary and recognize her positive impact in the U.K. and around the world.

Princes William and Harry's update comes three days before Princess Diana's 23rd death anniversary. This also marked the first time the royal princes have spoken out publicly together in months, the outlet noted.

Though reports claim the brothers have yet to reconcile, royal expert Katie Nicholl said in May that Prince William and Prince Harry have already reconnected with each other, citing their father Prince Charles' coronavirus diagnosis in March as one of the reasons the brothers decided to reach out to each other.

"There have been clearly some quite major rifts in that relationship, but things have got better and I know that William and Harry are in touch on the phone," Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight.

"They have done video calls together, they have done a lot of family birthdays and I think with Prince Charles not being well, that really forced the brothers to pick up the phone and get back in touch," she continued.

Prince Charles' sons started sorting out their relationship in February, Nicholl said. The rumored tension between their wives had also waned.

"I think there is a sense of relief on both sides that this high drama is now a thing of the past," the royal expert said.

However, this contradicted the claims made by royal correspondents Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in their new Sussex biography, "Finding Freedom."

Following the release of the tell-all book earlier this month, Nicholl commented on it, saying that it was damaging to the royal family.

"This has made the book compelling and fascinating, but for the royal family, this book has been damaging because it has opened up old wounds," Nicholl said.

Meanwhile, a source said that Prince William was more "hurt" than "angry" over his brother's decision to distance himself from him after he got together with Markle.