The centrepiece of a £3 million revamp of Diana, Princess of Wales’s memorial playground is almost complete.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in west London is set to be reopened in the summer of 2026 with a new “full-scale” wooden ship for children to enjoy.
Built in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, staff from the Royal Parks, which manages the playground, have inspected the galleon before it makes its maiden voyage to London.
The Kensington Gardens attraction closed for refurbishment works in autumn 2025.
Situated next to the late Diana’s former home, Kensington Palace, it has an average of one million visitors per year, making it the UK’s most visited playground, according to the Royal Parks.
The charity said the £3 million is being spent on upgrading the playground’s equipment which has “reached the end of its life”.
The revamped play area will feature the 12-metre tall galleon, which includes a tunnel slide, two crows nests and a ramped entrance to the main deck for disabled access.
The attraction will also feature a new treehouse, redesigned water play area and a new under-threes area.
The new galleon was constructed in the village of Frasdorf, Germany, by Timberplay and its partners Richter Spielgerate, the same designers who produced the original Peter Pan-themed galleon for the playground’s opening in 2000.
Andy Williams, park manager for Kensington Gardens, told the Press Association: “It really reaches to children’s imaginations, it lets them set free in a safe space.”
He added the new playground was “in the spirit of Princess Diana, we’ve kept faithful to that”.
The new structure is partially built out of mountain larch wood from sustainably managed forests in the Bavarian Alps.
The Royal Parks said the harsh alpine conditions result in extremely slow growth, making the timber stronger and naturally rot-resistant, negating the need for chemically treated wood.
Paul Collings, managing director at Timberplay, said: “This new galleon and treehouse will reinforce the space as a benchmark for public play, delighting millions of children for years to come.”
Head of planning and projects at Richter Spielgerate, Peter Heuken, who also helped design the original galleon in 2000, said: “If equipment is not just rotting away, but it is run through and worn out by children, then this is the biggest compliment one can get.”
“We are so much in love with the place and the park that I decided, we absolutely want to help redo it,” he said.
