Princes Plan Pop Party for Diana

Mon., Nov. 27, 2006 10:01 AM PST by Gina Serpe

The people's princess is being honored with a royal affair.

Princes William and Harry are organizing a star-studded concert to be held in London next summer to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of their mother, Princess Diana.

According to London's Sunday Mirror, the young royals will cohost the one-off gig at the soon-to-reopen Wembley Stadium, allowing more than 90,000 revelers to share in the "upbeat" celebration—and benefit—in honor of the princess.

Proceeds from the massive to-do will be doled out to several charities—most likely including the homeless charity Centrepoint, which Diana worked closely with prior to her 1997 death, and William's recently founded African conservation charity, Tusk Trust.

While the well-connected royal offspring have yet to extend formal invitations to performers, the British media have already theorized as to the all-star participants, with Elton John said to top the boys' boldfaced wish list. The Grammy winner was a close friend of Diana and performed a special version of "Candle in the Wind" at her funeral, a tune that went on to become the biggest selling CD single of all time.

The Sunday Mirror also reports that Sting, Phil Collins and George Michael are likely candidates to perform, having all been friends with the late princess. As for the 24-year-old heir and the 22-year-old spare, the paper reports that the princes may also invite two of their fave acts, Brit superstars Robbie Williams and Girls Aloud (a Spice Girls 2.0) to perform at the concert.

The paper also claims that William and Harry will invite the next winner of The X-Factor, an American Idol-like reality-competition from Simon Cowell, as they have previously copped to being fans of the series.

The Sunday Times, meanwhile, reports that Beyoncé and Kylie Minogue may also be approached to participate in the show.

That is, if a show is indeed to take place.

Prince Charles' communications secretary, Paddy Harverson, told the Times that a formal announcement on how exactly the princes would honor their mother would be issued before the end of the year, but that a charity megaconcert wasn't the only option the boys were considering—though in light of Diana's well-known love of music, it is the likeliest.

Further intimating that a concert is the high-profile tribute William and Harry will choose, details are already falling into place.

The gig, for which the brothers are also said to be preparing speeches in honor of their mother—with the full support of their father—is reportedly targeting a date of July 1, which instead of being held on the anniversary of Diana's death, would take place on what would have been her 46th birthday.

On Aug. 31, 1997, Diana and Dodi Fayed were killed in a Paris car crash, which has been widely blamed on the paparazzi's pursuit of the couple. Next month, however, London's Metropolitan Police are expected to file a report on the tragedy, which is set to include 20,000 documents, 1,500 witness statements and will determine whether joint or separate inquests will be made into the deaths.

Meanwhile, the charity concert will reportedly take place at London's Wembley Stadium and be the first concert held in the refurbished, billion-dollar arena. It is expected to air live on both British and American TV.