Princess Diana’s former London apartment is now an official tourist spot

(CNN) – The London apartment where Diana Spencer lived before becoming Princess of Wales has been commemorated with an official blue plaque.

The plaque was placed in the Coleherne Court building on Old Brompton Street in Kensington on 29 September, following a successful campaign led by the London Assembly.

“Diana held, and continues to hold, a very special place in the hearts of Londoners and we are delighted to see her blue plaque formally placed as a monument to her work for others,” said Andrew Boff, President of the London Assembly, during the discovery ceremony.

On the plaque you can read: “Lady Diana Spencer, later Princess of Wales, lived here between 1979 and 1981”.

Diana’s two years on the 60th floor of Coleherne Court were formative. He bought the apartment with the money he inherited from his great-grandmother. The price was £ 50,000 (US $ 67,000).

Diana moved to London at 18 and worked as a babysitter and in a nursery.

She began dating Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, in 1980 and they got engaged a year later.

As her public profile grew, her apartment at Coleherne Court was regularly besieged by photographers hoping to capture images of the future princess. After her engagement to Prince Charles, her mother had the apartment sold. Today it is still a private residence.

“Lady Diana Spencer, later Princess of Wales, is one of the most iconic figures in recent British history,” says a statement issued by English Heritage, a charity that manages more than 400 buildings, monuments and historic sites in England. .

“Her troubled marriage to Prince Charles and subsequent relationships were the subject of feverish and intrusive press coverage, but she gained a lasting reputation outside of her personal life for her extensive charitable and humanitarian work.”

The blue plaque is the second significant monument to Diana inaugurated in 2021, the year in which she would have turned 60. In July, her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, jointly unveiled a statue of their mother in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace.

These plaques are placed on buildings in England associated with important historical figures and are maintained by English Heritage. “Searching for blue plaques is a popular pastime among tourists and history buffs.

The plaques recognize a number of politicians, artists, writers, and other important historical figures, including Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill, and Freddie mercury.

Personalities do not need to be British to receive a plaque. Foreigners who lived in the UK, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Émile Zola, have also been recognized.

In London alone there are about 950 blue plates.