Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is set to open a permanent memorial fountain to late Princess Diana in Hyde Park, central London, on Tuesday, almost seven years after Diana's death.

Princes William and Harry will attend the official opening of the publicly-funded memorial. Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles and her brother Earl Spencer are also expected to attend.

The granite-made 700-ton fountain, which costs 3.6 million pounds (about 6.59 million US dollars), consists of a 210 meter-long stone ring with water pouring onto it, flowing in two directions at different speeds. The center may be used as a children's play area.

"I particularly didn't want to have a colossal fountain. Something that you stare at. Something that becomes a spectacle," said its designer Kathryn Gustafson.

"I feel that so much of her life she was a spectacle and this circle of water is somewhere children can play and people can go in and out," she said in a press preview.

The design of the fountain has come in for much criticism. Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, who died in April, said it lacked "grandeur."

The fountain's construction was also dogged by delays and bureaucratic wrangling. Finally, the Royal Parks provided extra funds after the creation ran 600,000 pounds over its predicted budget.

Source: Xinhua