An 82-year-old superfan of the late Princess Diana is determined to attend the unveiling of a statue of her heroine – despite being told she is not invited.
Jo Dobson, from Hucclecote in Gloucestershire, is the founder of the Diana Circle UK.
She says that when the Princess died in a car accident in 1997 she and others felt they had lost a member of their own family.
Ms Dobson wants to be in Kensington Palace for the 60 th birthday memorial on Thursday.
She has contacted the palace and been told the event is a private affair for the royal family and that she is not allowed to attend.
But Ms Dobson is determined to be there, and has already made a flower arrangement using 60 silk flowers for the memorial, according to Gloucestershire Live.
She remains defiant, saying “It is important that I am there” and has booked a £20 National Express coach for the big day.
Ms Dobson said: “On Thursday I am getting picked up at about 7.30am by Dial a Ride and going to be dropped in Gloucester to get a National Express coach up to Kensington Palace.
“It has cost me £20 and the coaches are few and far between at the moment but I have to go up there. I should arrive before lunchtime. Hopefully around 11am.”
She continued: “I telephoned the palace to see if the unveiling was still on and told them I was coming. But they told me it was a private matter and members of the public were not invited to attend.
“They are wrong. I am going. It is important that I am there. I am the founding member of the Diana Circle UK.”
Ms Dobson claims Princess Diana’s long-serving butler of 14 years, Paul Burrell, is also not invited to the event. She has met the butler and refers to him by his first name.
She said: “Paul is not going he says as he is not invited and that is wrong as he worked that job for 14 years.
“It is important that I am there. I wanted to get her birthday made into a public holiday but I couldn't.”
Ms Dobson has collected flower arrangements to take to the palace on Thursday.
She said: “I have had the number 60 made from silk flowers which are pink and little pearls decorating them.
“When Diana died it felt as if we had lost a family member of our own.
“There will never be another Diana.”
Kensington Palace has been contacted for comment.
Princess Diana’s son Prince Harry returned to the UK on Friday to attend the unveiling of the statue.
Harry has accused the royal family of racism and neglect in a series of explosive TV interviews since stepping back from being a senior royal and moving to the US last year with his wife Meghan Markle .
It will be the first time he has seen his brother William, Duke of Cambridge, since the funeral for their grandfather, Prince Philip, in April.
He is said to have already met with his grandmother.
The Duke of Sussex is currently self-isolating at Frogmore Cottage where the Queen was seen travelling to roughly half an hour after his arrival.
