The late Princess Diana will be honored this year with a blue plaque from English Heritage, a tradition that goes back more than 150 years.
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English Heritage places the plaques on buildings around London to honor the men and women who have lived or worked in them while contributing to the good of the city, nation, and world.
A location for Diana’s plaque has not been confirmed, but it is believed it will be placed outside the West London apartment she lived in with friends prior to her engagement to Prince Charles.
Diana’s plaque will be unveiled later this year. Her name was among six announced for plaques in 2021 by English Heritage officials last week.
“We are expecting our plaque to Diana, Princess of Wales, to be very popular,” said Anna Eavis, curatorial director for English Heritage. “She was an inspiration and cultural icon to many, raising awareness of issues including landmines and homelessness, and helping to destigmatize illnesses such as HIV, leprosy, and depression.”
Diana used her platform to promote causes dear to her heart, a tradition carried on today by her sons, Harry and William.
“It seems fitting that we should erect a plaque commemorating her work and influence in what would have been her 60th year,” Eavis said.
A date for the unveiling has not been announced. Officials have only identified the location as somewhere associated with her life prior to marriage.
But her brother, Charles Spencer, appeared to let the cat out of the bag in an Instagram post celebrating the honor.
“I’m tickled pink by these photographs showing a blue plaque being made for Coleherne Court, where Diana was so happy with her wonderful flatmates in her late teens,” he wrote on April 1. “Thank you, English Heritage, for such a lovely tribute.”
Fans of The Crown will know the apartment from scenes depicted in season four of the Netflix series.
Visitors do not have access to the apartment. The blue plaque will simply acknowledge its location.
The honor is part of an effort to add more women to the blue plaque program, which is heavily dominated by men among the approximately 950 awarded since its inception in 1866. Half of this year’s honorees will be women, Eavis said.
“We still have a long way to go to address the gender imbalance that has ensued since the first blue plaque went up over 150 years ago, but with the help of many excellent nominations from the British public, we are headed in the right direction,” she said.
All six recipients announced last week are women. In addition to Diana, others to be honored in 2021 include peace campaigner Kathleen Lonsdale, social reformer Caroline Norton, fashion designer Jean Muir, former slave and campaigner for abolition Ellen Craft, and barrister Helena Normanton, the first woman to practice at the Bar and appear before the High Court.
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