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IT is one of the most controversial memories to Princess Diana.

But love or hate Walsall’ s black Diana statue, it certainly provoked plenty of comment.

In fact, over the years its colour has changed several times.

It now stands outside a funeral directors’ in Bloxwich .

The statue most recently attracted attention when algae formations turned it green, a far cry from its first look.

It was originally sculpted by stonemason Andrew Walsh 17 years ago.

But a plan for the the Indian black granite statue to have pride of place as a centrepiece for a burial art exhibition was scrapped after complaints by Earl Spencer, the younger brother of Princess Diana.

Local residents called for the statue to go on display at the New Art Gallery in Walsall, but the calls were rejected by councillors, with a local MP noting that the statue “looked more like Diana Ross”.

The statue was later dealt another blow whens the Queen refused permission for it to be displayed at Walsall bus station.

Mr Walsh decided to remove the veneer from the £10,000 statue, to improve its overall look but was still unable to find it a home.

Now white, it was left to stand outside Strong Memorials on Park Road, Bloxwich, which is part of the Andrew Walsh funeral company.

The life-sized statue came under the spotlight once again in 2015, meeting with ridicule after it had turned green.

Moss and algae had formed on the statue, and local residents claimed that it looked more like Princess Fiona from Shrek than Princess Diana.

Walsall councillor Richard Worrall called for a new home for the now almost iconic statue.

He said: “I think it deserves prominence somewhere in the borough, but where it is now is not exactly prominent.

“There was a sort of wave of emotion at the time, but now that’s died down. It’s a bit of okay public art and we don’t do too well on public art in Walsall. I think it deserves display.”

Once the attention again died down, the statue was cleaned, returning it to a grey-white state.

With the approach of the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, It continues to stand outside the funeral directors, where it looks to stay for the time being.

This article was originally published on July 30, 2017. It has been re-published ahead of the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death