Diana is remembered in a never before seen portrait. Photo / Getty Images
Diana is remembered in a never before seen portrait. Photo / Getty Images
A never-before-seen photograph of Diana, Princess of Wales is to go on display for the first time at her former home, showing the little-known "stoic" and traditionally regal side of the woman once expected to be Queen.
The picture is taken by David Bailey, and shows the Princess in profile in 1988 appearing serious and contemplative, gazing away from the camera.
A marked contrast to her best-known photographs, it was not exhibited at the time when the public instead wanted to celebrate her for her warmth and approachability.
Curators at Historic Royal Palaces have now secured it for a new Kensington Palace exhibition about the Royal Family and photography, believing it is the "most powerful" of all the pictures in Bailey's photoshoot with the Princess for its "very different" feel.
While other pictures in the same series were accepted into the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) collection, this remained with the photographer.
The photograph was taken by David Bailey in 1988. Photo / David Bailey
Claudia Acott Williams, curator at Historic Royal Palaces, said the Princess' decision to pose for Bailey, best known for his celebrity shots, was "quite a surprising choice", noting he was "not an established royal photographer".
She likened the photograph to formal royal images such as those of Queen Mary, adding it was "quite a standard presentation of the monarchy".
'A really different light'
"For me, this is the most powerful of all the pictures in that sitting," she said. "It shows her in a really different light.
"She created this warm, informal image. Here, she's retreating from the camera a bit, she looks stoic. It's doing something very different."
The images in the same series that are now in the NPG collection, she said, showed her as the "very characteristically warm, approachable figure. That's how we wanted to see Diana."
The photograph is a last-minute addition to the Life Through A Royal Lens exhibition, loaned by the digital Princess Diana Museum with the agreement of Bailey.
It goes on show on Friday as part of about 130 photographs ranging from never-before-seen to some of the most famous images already guaranteed their place in the history books.
Each was chosen to help illustrate the relationship between the Royal family and photography, from the Victorian era to the modern day.
It includes a reproduction of the earliest surviving photograph of a member of the Royal family ever taken, of Prince Albert in 1842 as a gift for Queen Victoria.
From relaxed domestic shots of the Queen and her sister as young children to the pomp and pageantry of Cecil Beaton, it tells the story of how the Royal Family learned to curate their own image.
One now poignant image, taken by Matt Holyoak, shows the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh laughing together at their 70th wedding anniversary photo shoot. At the time, the charming image was considered a little too intimate to be released by Buckingham Palace as an official portrait.
With her children in 1957
The first photograph Queen Victoria allowed to be shown to the public is there, capturing her with her children in 1957, as well as the first Royal wedding photograph - of Princess Victoria and Prince Friedrich Willhelm of Prussia.
The modern day is represented by pictures of young royals Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis taken by the Duchess of Cambridge.
Brothers Prince William and Prince Harry are captured side-by-side in their 20s, a contact sheet shows the Queen cradling a baby Prince Edward as Prince Andrew looks on, and Prince Philip and Princess Anne are immortalised in a candid shot barbecuing at Balmoral.
There is also a digital display of photographs taken by members of the public, with 1000 submissions whittled down to 50.
Ms Acott Williams said: "Ever since Queen Victoria and Prince Albert first embraced the revolutionary new technology of photography, the medium has shaped how the world views the British monarchy.
"It has allowed the Royal Family to offer fascinating insights into their life and work, transforming the royal image and creating an unprecedented relationship between crown and subjects."
Life Through a Royal Lens opens at Kensington Palace on Friday.
