 The memorial in 2007 | |
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| Location | Harrods department store, London |
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| Coordinates | 51°29′59″N00°09′49″W / 51.49972°N 0.16361°W /51.49972; -0.16361 |
| Designer | William Mitchell |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Material | Bronze |
| Dedicated to | Diana, Princess of Wales.Dodi Fayed |
Innocent Victims is a copper statue ofDiana, Princess of Wales, andDodi Fayed, which was on display at theHarrods department store in London, England, between 2005 and 2018. It was commissioned by Dodi's fatherMohamed Al-Fayed when he owned Harrods, and designed byWilliam Mitchell.
The statue is the second of two memorials in Harrods to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, both commissioned by Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi's father, who owned the store from 1985 to 2010. The first memorial, unveiled in April 1998, is a pyramid-shaped display containing photos of Dodi and Diana, a wine glass said to be from their final dinner, and a ring said to have been purchased by Dodi the day prior tothe crash in which they both died.[1][2]
The statue was designed by London-born sculptorWilliam Mitchell,[3] who had worked for the Al-Fayed family for more than 40 years, and was cast in bronze using thelost wax method at the Bronze Age Foundry in East London.[1] It depicts Diana and Dodi facing each other, clad in loose clothing that clings to their bodies. They are said to be dancing in Mediterranean waves. Dodi's right arm is raised and appears to be releasing a large bird, said to be analbatross symbolising "freedom and eternity".[4] Diana's left arm is also raised, gripping Dodi's hand. Their other arms are below their waists, the fingers just touching. There is a forward momentum in their poses, Diana's right leg bent and exposed by a dress cut to the top of her thigh. Dodi's right leg is completely off the base of the statue. Both are barefoot. The inner curve of the wings of the bird has been described as forming a double D.[5] The statue drew criticism for its artistic merit.[6][7][5]
Mitchell also designed the Egyptian escalator at Harrods and the associated carvings which form the background to both of the Dodi and Diana monuments.[8]
At the time of its unveiling in September 2005,[2] Al-Fayed, who had maintained that the deaths werenot an accident although anofficial investigation ruled out foul play, said:
As we approach the eighth anniversary of Diana and Dodi's untimely death and in the absence of any further official memorial for these two victims – apart from the highly criticisedfountain in Hyde Park – I wanted to keep their spirits alive with a further gesture ... I have named the sculptureInnocent Victims because for eight years I have fought to prove that my son and Princess Diana were murdered.[4]
In January 2018, it was announced by Harrods that the statue would be returned to the Al-Fayed family, seven years after Mohamed Al-Fayed sold Harrods to theQatar Investment Authority.[6] The store's manager at the time, Michael Ward, said it was appropriate to return the statue to Mohamed Al-Fayed, given that a new public memorial had been commissioned at Kensington Palace by princes William and Harry. At the time of the unveiling, Al-Fayed had claimed that the statue would stay at Harrods forever.[4] The Qatari owners were eager to regain the patronage of the British royal family, Harrods having beenroyal warrant holders continuously from 1913 to 2000 until "the ugly aftermath" of the death of Diana and Dodi.[2] In 2000 Mohamed Al-Fayed had broken commercial ties between Harrods and the Royal Family when he removed the royal warrants. In 2010 he revealed that he had had the warrants burned.[9]
Innocent Victims is, by almost every measure, a terrible work of art. It fails as a realist work [...] It fails as a symbolic work, too [...] Most of all, it fails as a representation of love[.]
[...] his tacky "Innocent victims" memorial in Harrods'[.]
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