Princess Diana's Kensington Gardens memorial playground set for £3M inclusivity makeover - including a wheelchair-friendly galleon ship
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The Royal Parks are to invest £3million in a complete refurbishment of the official playground built in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Peter Pan-inspired wonderland, complete with a pirate ship and walkways, was built in Kensington Gardens in central London and opened in 2000.
![[Three towers at different heights will provide different levels of challenge, again for accessibility, while other features include a suspension bridge, a tunnel slide, a rope bridge and a see-saw bridge with a slide]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/16/94391081-14313329-Three_towers_at_different_heights_will_provide_different_levels_-a-20_1737561823432.jpg)
Diana, who died in 1997 in a car crash in Paris, lived in an apartment in neighbouring Kensington Palace and loved to walk in the royal park. Now, after 25 years of use, the playground has seen better days and is set to be radically updated. The new and improved Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground - which has already welcomed more than a million children since it was opened in 2000 following her tragic death three years previously - will provide more physically challenging but inclusive attractions for children with disabilities.
![[The multiple-level Tree House Encampment will be constructed with sustainably-sourced timber, which will provide opportunities for children to climb and play at different heights]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/16/94391083-14313329-The_multiple_level_Tree_House_Encampment_will_be_constructed_wit-a-21_1737561823439.jpg)
The current ship will be replaced with a brand new galleon - complete with a crow’s nest, ship’s wheel and telescope. Built over three levels, it will be wheelchair accessible. Elsewhere, there's a new multiple-level Tree House Encampment constructed with sustainably-sourced timber, which will provide opportunities for children to climb and play at different heights.
![[Prince William and Prince Harry during the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Diana in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in 2021]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/16/94391195-14313329-Prince_William_and_Prince_Harry_during_the_unveiling_of_a_statue-a-22_1737561823483.jpg)
Three towers will provide varying levels of challenge, again for accessibility, while other features include a suspension bridge, a tunnel slide, a rope bridge and a see-saw bridge with a slide. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground (left) has already welcomed more than a million children since it was opened in 2000. The new and improved playground (right) will provide more physically challenging but inclusive attractions for children with disabilities.
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