Prince William is taking a bow for his mom.
Nearly 35 years after Princess Diana posed in front of Brazil's Christ the Redeemer statue, the Prince of Wales paid homage with his own photo.
On Nov. 5, William—donning a blue double-breasted blazer adorned with his Remembrance Day pin—recreated the image when he visited the nearly 100-foot statue ahead of the Royal Foundation's Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly ceremony.
And Diana's presence wasn't lost on the 43-year-old—who shares kids Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, with wife Kate Middleton—as he stood in the Brazilian sun amid his five-day visit to the country.
"The Prince has loved meeting so many people from across Rio over the last few days," a Kensington Palace spokesperson told reporters by the statue, per InStyle. "He's been incredibly struck by the number of people who fondly remember his mother's visit to this beautiful city."
Ahead of the heir's visit, he shared his perspective on the award ceremony—which honors individuals working on environmental concerns—as well as the UN COP30 climate summit.
"As a father, I think constantly about the world my children will inherit," William told Hello! in an interview published Nov. 3. "I want them to grow up surrounded by nature, opportunity and a sense of hope about the future. But I also know that unless we act boldly now, that future is at risk."
It's a feeling that Diana and her then-husband King Charles III also felt as they visited Brazil in 1991 to promote environmental awareness and trade relations between the countries.
At the time, Diana—also mom to Prince Harry—took time to visit children's hospitals with patients who had contracted AIDs—a cause she felt deeply passionate about.
For William, his mother, who died in a 1997 car accident, is role model in philanthropy.
"I wanted her to be proud of the person I would become," he recalled in the 2017 BBC documentary Diana, 7 Days. "I didn't want her worried or that her legacy would be that, you know, William and or Harry were completely and utterly devastated by it and that all the hard work and all the love and all the energy she put into us when we were younger would go to waste."
For a closer look at Princess Diana's royally impressive legacy, keep reading.
A Progressive Humanitarian
Princess Diana went far against the grain when she advocated for causes previously considered taboo amongst royals, including AIDS research, land mine removal and homelessness in the U.K. She was one of the first public figures to be photographed interacting physically with AIDS victims—a decision that helped destigmatize and lessen the public's fear around the condition.
New Approach to the Public's Fascination
The paparazzi's role in Princess Diana's tragic passing actually brought the royal family and the press closer than ever before. After her death, the palace made agreements with the British media to ensure photographers wouldn't overstep boundaries in an attempt to satiate public interest. As a result, we see more palace-organized photo calls and greater cooperation on both sides when it comes to balancing privacy and public figuredom.
A Remarkably Open Book
Perhaps Diana's most extraordinary influence on the royal family was her unprecedented vulnerability in the face of public scrutiny. She openly discussed her struggle with mental health (notably suffering from postpartum depression after giving birth to Prince William), and in her landmark interview with the BBC's Martin Bashir Diana remarked, "Well, maybe I was the first person ever to be in this family who ever had a depression or was ever openly tearful. And obviously that was daunting, because if you've never seen it before how do you support it?"
Years later, William and Harry have kept their mother's legacy alive by launching Heads Together, a campaign that works to change the U.K.'s conversation around mental health and wellbeing.
Mixing Business With Pleasure
The princess made yet another impact on life behind palace doors by maintaining unusually laid back relationships with the royal staff. Her famously close friendship with butler Paul Burrell captivated headlines, and she reportedly set up play dates for Prince William and Harry with her employees' children. Princess Di also encouraged her sons to participate in the kitchen, which might have inspired Kate Middleton's decision to often prepare home-cooked meals for her family.
Warm Welcome Home
Princess Di flipped the script on traditional royal birthing techniques by welcoming both her children outside Buckingham Palace, where Prince Charles was born decades before. This made Prince William the first future British monarch to be born in a hospital on June 21, 1982. Wills and the Duchess of Cambridge followed suit, welcoming Prince George and Princess Charlotte in the same medical center, St. Mary's in London.
Parenting as a Royal
Instead of putting her sons on a pedestal like the entire world had already done, Princess Diana made an effort to create a sense of normalcy for William and Harry. Her youngest explained in an interview, "She made the decision that no matter what, despite all the difficulties of growing up in that lime light and on that stage, she was going to ensure that both of us had as normal life as possible. And if that means taking us for a burger every now and then or sneaking us into the cinema, or driving through the country lanes with the roof down in her old school BMW to listen to Enya."
Family That Tours Together, Stays Together
When Diana and Prince Charles were to embark on their official tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983, she insisted that Wills (then only 10-months-old) would join his parents on the road. Royal children never typically traveled on these trips, but Diana's decision to keep her family together explains why Prince George and Princess Charlotte are now always included on overseas ventures.