Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground to reopen following a multi-million-pound renewal

One of the most famous playgrounds in the world will reopen on Wednesday 5 August 2026 (the national day of play) following a £3million investment by The Royal Parks charity.

The playground located in Kensington Gardens opened in 2000 to commemorate the late Diana, Princess of Wales who resided at the nearby Kensington Palace.

Following over two decades of adventures and play, the Peter Pan inspired playground has undergone a full-scale refurbishment after some of the equipment including the large sailing ship, had reached the end of its life and required a full replacement.

Prior to the renewal, the free-to-enter playground received over a million visits a year, making it one of the most visited playgrounds in the UK. 

When children visit the renewed playground, they will now experience:

• A brand new 17-metre by 12-metre Galleon moored on a sandy beach. They can channel their inner sailor, climb one of two crow’s nests, brave the large tunnel slide, and use the play telescope to warn of danger ahead. Below deck is a play kitchen and lots of nooks and crannies to hide in.
• A Treehouse of dreams featuring three different towers to climb up onto as well as an exhilarating four metre tunnel slide. An accessible walkway provides lots of fun elements such as talk tubes, musical instruments and games such as tic-tac-toe.
• A brand new waterplay area featuring a larger-than-life sized crocodile sculpture. Dams run across the crocodile’s body so children can control the flow of water and cool themselves down on a hot summer’s day*
• A redesigned area for younger children featuring timber houses, play ships and a large sandpit.

Ahead of the public reopening, children from the state primary, St Mary Abbots School, located just a short distance from Kensington Gardens, visited the renewed playground to test out the equipment.

The Royal Parks charity has also upgraded and expanded the playground’s toilets. to better serve the large numbers of visitors the playground receives. The number of toilets has almost doubled and there are now two accessible toilets.

Whilst The Royal Parks charity is excited to welcome children back to the playground, it warns it may be busier than usual for the first few months. 

Andy Williams explains: 

“This incredibly popular playground has a capacity of 450 people and with UK schools now on summer break, we are expecting more people to visit than usual. Therefore, there may be lengthy queues across the week, but especially at weekends. 

“We want to manage expectations and help people plan ahead. There are 13 other playgrounds to visit across the Royal Parks, plus lots of family events so if you get to this playground and don’t want to wait, please check out The Royal Parks website for what else might be going on.”

*The water play is currently switched off because of the current Thames Water hosepipe ban.