one of the most beloved figures in modern history will soon receive a fitting memorial. The Royal Parks Agency in Britain recently announced plans to honor the late Princess Diana with a parkland walkway. The $2.8 million project will consist of a seven-mile walk through some of London's most famous parks.

The route will go through the four royal parks of St. James's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Along the way, the trail will be adorned with 1.3 million spring bulbs placed beside the borders of the trail.

Seventy plaques commemorating the life of Princess Diana will be placed in the ground throughout the walkway. ``This will be one of the most magnificent urban parkland walks in the world,'' said Chancellor Gordon Brown, who is chairman of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee, the organization that approved the newly submitted plan.

The walk will take visitors past buildings and locations associated with Diana during her life, including Kensington Palace where the Princess lived for 15 years. Other sites included on the walkway are Clarence House, from where she left to get married, St. James' Palace, where she at one time shared an office with Prince Charles, and Spencer House, once her family's London mansion.

As part of the children's playground, the Pirate Ship lies within the Beach Cove area of the playground. The fully rigged galleon is designed as if it's stranded on a sandy cove. While on board, there are many hidden places and sections for children to investigate. Around the ship, the sandy lagoon features smaller boats, sand diggers, boulders, and sub-tropical planting.

Part of the strategy behind the design is to avoid attracting a large number of visitors to one particular area. Therefore, the path will criss-cross the four parks without a clear start or finish. The seventy plaques, or markers, will direct visitors and motivate movement along the pathway. Sculpted by Alec Peever, the center of the plaques will contain a rose emblem etched in stainless steel.

Since her death in a 1997 car crash in Paris, the only official British commemorations of Princess Diana have been a coin bearing her likeness and a few community projects established in her name. The British public has been vocal in their desire to have a proper memorial for the late Princess.

Last August, on the third anniversary of her death, supporters of the Princess staged protests against the royal family. They challenged Queen Elizabeth to create an appropriate memorial that would pay tribute to the Princess. After months of petitions and newspaper campaigns, members of the Memorial Committee under the chairmanship of Chancellor Brown, met recently at Downing Street and finally agreed to a proposal. The plans for the parkland walk have been greeted with enthusiasm by supporters of Princess Diana.

The Committee also agreed to create a memorial fountain positioned along the parkland walk. Chancellor Brown said that a water feature would be a "sympathetic and dignified way to remember the Princess." The fountain is believed to be the favored option of her two sons Prince William, 17, and Prince Harry, 15, along with members of her immediate family.

The exact location of the fountain has not yet been determined. What has been decided is that the water structure won't contain an image or sculpture of Princess Diana because her family felt it would be inappropriate. The cost of the fountain will be met from the proceeds of the Diana memorial coin, of which an estimated 2 million have been sold.

The Children's Playground

Along with the walkway, an additional $2 million will be spent on the redesign of an existing children's playground in Kensington Gardens, just north of Kensington Palace. A former kindergarten teacher, Princess Diana was known worldwide for her strong support and love of children. The purposed site was chosen because the Princess used to take her own two children to the playground very early in their childhoods.

Kensington Gardens is officially designated as a historic landscape in the English Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The gardens are also included within two conservation areas. An Edwardian shelter and clock tower, along with an old oak tree carved with fairy-tale figures, will remain intact beside the playground. All existing trees in good health will be retained and utilized as elements within the design.

London-based Land Use Consultants (LUC) have been chosen as the lead consultants for the design and implementation of the playground. The firm intends on setting a "new precedent for playground design" that will give children the opportunity to develop their innate spontaneity and innocent curiosity within a safe and natural setting.

The Royal Parks Agency chose LUC because of their experience in environmental planning, design, and management. Former winners of the Landscape Institute Awards, the company was chosen from a large list of landscape architecture firms from around the globe. The design team hopes to provide a "a holistic environment" for play activity by using materials which are appropriate to the unique and highly sensitive site, such as natural timber, sand, planting and natural stone. Every effort will be made to retain as much of the original plant materials as possible.

The purposed route (see map below) goes through Hyde Park in London, one of the most famous city parks in the world. As part of the memorial walkway for Princess Diana, elements of the park will be improved by the Royal Parks Agency. The path will be marked with 70 plaques, or markers, created by sculptor Alec Peever. At their center, the plaques will have a rose emblem (left) etched in stainless steel, which will appear to look like a precious metal. The pattern for the bronze casting of the plaques will be modeled by hand. The markers will direct visitors through various London sites associated with the Princess during her life.

As a tribute to author J.M. Barrie, a 'Peter Pan' theme will provide the basis for the redesign of the site. The creator of the children's classic funded the original playground in 1906 and later published 'Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'. Barrie used to make daily pilgrimages to the gardens when he lived in London.

In order to enable children to relive the many adventures of Barrie's fictional hero, the site will be divided into six distinct areas that enable varying play opportunities. The sections are connected with the use of pathways and trails.

The centerpiece of the playground will be a 50 foot Pirate Ship that has a 35 foot mast. Located within the Beach Cove, the fully rigged galleon is designed to look like it's stranded on a sandy cove. The ship features hidden play areas and various decks for children to explore. Surrounding the ship is a sandy lagoon that features smaller boats, sand diggers, boulders, and sub-tropical planting.

The surrounding area will include a series of trees and platforms called the Tree House Encampment. The use of interconnecting walkways and ramps will enable access for children of all abilities. Next to the Tree House Encampment is the Movement and Musical Garden, where children can create melodic tunes on a variety of interactive instruments, including everything from a wooden xylophone to a water piano.

Additional sections of the playground include the Mermaids Fountain and the Wigwam Camp with mini wigwams. The Mermaids Fountain will feature water that cascades into a large shell formation. The children will have the chance to direct the water onto numerous vessels and canals in the fountain. Hidden behind a grass-mound, the Wigwam Camp features three North American Tepees with totem poles.

Near the Mermaids Fountain and Wigwam camp, children can enjoy the collection of play houses within the Oak Tree Village. The houses are arranged below the canopy of an existing oak tree. A flock of hand-carved sheep and play horses are placed among the various play houses.

``The playground will commemorate her love of all children,'' said Greg McErlean of Britain's Royal Parks Agency who is project manager of the playground. Creating separate areas for play activity will generate enough variety to appeal to children of different interests, regardless of age, ability, or gender. The universal 'Peter Pan' theme and the various play areas all work together to create a multi-functional site that her supporters feel is an appropriate and fitting way to honor her.

The memorials currently being planned in London will serve an additional purpose beyond paying tribute to Princess Diana. The entire parkland walkway, along with the children's playground, will give the Royal Parks Agency a chance to improve and enhance the existing environment.

"The project will celebrate the Princess's affection for the open spaces around her home and her love of children," said David Welch, Royal Parks Chief Executive, adding, "and the bonus for the Royal Parks, is the opportunity to improve and revive the parkland along the route." The renovation work will include improving the landscaping, restoring ornamental gates, and enhancing fountains.

Once the renovation and construction are complete, the site will be available to use throughout the year. Both the memorial walkway and children's playground are scheduled to open on July 1, 2000, which would have been Princess Diana's 39th birthday. LASN