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Showbiz

Princes tour rain-lashed Wembley ahead of Di's concert

Updated 09:07am on 1 Jul 2007


Prince William and Prince Harry toured a cold and rain-lashed Wembley Stadium today as they inspected the final preparations for tomorrow's Concert for Diana.

The royal brothers were taken on a walkabout around the £800 million arena and given an insight into the work of backroom production staff who are working hard to put the finishing touches to the event.

The princes are putting on the celebration to commemorate their mother's life 10 years after she died in a car crash.

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Among the stars taking to the stage tomorrow, which would have been the princess's 46th birthday, are Lily Allen, Rod Stewart, Natasha Bedingfield, James Morrison and Sir Elton John.

First stop for William and Harry was the sound mixing desk in the middle of the pitch at Wembley Stadium, north west London.

The brothers were told by sound designer Derek Zieba how it was his job to make sure the performing artists sound good and explained that when the stadium was full the musicology would be even better.

The royal brothers were then taken through a large trailer which will be the nerve centre for broadcasters and where all the footage screened live by the BBC tomorrow will be processed.

William and Harry squeezed into the tight space and were given another brief description of the art of putting together footage from a concert by director Janet Fraser Crook.

She joked with the princes and said: "We have a camera on the royal box, but only the dancing will be shown." The director asked William: "Would you like to see how the top of the show works?"

The prince replied: "No, keep it a surprise."

She then took them through a dummy run of how she will put the footage of the show together as she barked out orders to cameramen in various locations around the stadium and asked one of her team, who was on stage, to pretend to be a singer, which made the royal brothers laugh.

William and Harry stared at the banks of screens in front of them and watched as the main console flashed up different angles of the arena and the stage.

Later, the princes will be joined by more than 100 youngsters for a special lunch at Wembley Stadium.

At the special lunch the Princes met poorly children, who are being supported by the charity WellChild - of which Harry is patron - along with their parents and carers.

Some of the winners of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award, recognised for their courage and selflessness, were also invited.

And members of the Diana Community Children's Nursing Teams - which enable seriously ill youngsters to be cared for at home - attended the lunch.

Harry, 22, spent time with Sandra Tigica, a 26-year-old Angolan who lost her left leg after stepping on a landmine in 1981.

The young woman met Diana when she toured Angola ten years ago to see first hand the human misery buried munitions can wreak.

The Prince bent down to talk to the diminutive Angolan mother who had brought her three-year-old daughter Eufrafina and nine-month-old son Hermingildo to the UK to celebrate the Princess' memory at tomorrow's concert with thousands of others.

Harry apologised to the 26-year-old for the fact there were no African musicians on the bill: "I don't know if the music will be good (for you), we tried to get some people from Lesotho (in Africa) but unfortunately we're stuck with English people."

He then jokingly asked Ms Tigica's interpreter, Antonio Neo from the Angolan Red Cross: "Does she know Tom Jones."

Harry spent time with young Eufrafina as he waited for the meal to be served and as the three-year-old climbed into his lap at the lunch table he looked around and joked "Feels like I've stolen someone's child. Where's mum gone."

Ms Tigica met Diana when she was being treated at the orthopaedic centre in the Angolan capital Luanda. Speaking through the interpreter she said after meeting Harry: "I liked Diana very very much, although it was a very short meeting.

"I didn't know she was a Princess, I only found out later she was a Princess from England.

"I liked her alot, it was a really nice meeting she gave me hope to continue to live.

"I'm very joyful and pleased to have met the son of Diana."

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