It took 34 years to finally discover this photo of Diana! On the occasion of the new exhibition Life Through a Royal Lens (Life through a royal lens) which will open its doors on March 4, 2022, at Kensington Palace, an unpublished portrait of Princess Wales has just been unveiled. This is a beautiful black and white photograph taken by the famous David Bailey for the National Portrait Gallery. This portrait dates back to 1988, nine years before the tragic death of the Briton.
Other shots of this same session had already been made public, but they showed a more smiling Diana. This time, the princess poses in profile, in an evening dress, with a neutral face and a distant gaze. At that time, she was 27 years old. “Diana’s choice to have Bailey as the royal photographer, with her bold minimalist style, reflected her desire to establish a new photographic identity for herself“, is it explained on the Instagram account of the organization grouping several historic royal residences, including Kensington.
When posing for the lens of David Bailey (now 84), Diana had been married to Prince Charles for seven years. Their two children, William and Harry, were 6 and 4 years old. That year, the couple had notably made an official trip to Thailand and Australia. But their marital problems, at the heart of which was Camilla Parker Bowles, were already known to the public…