Diana and Charles relaxing with royals: Unseen photographs from ‘80s to be auctioned
A REMARKABLE private collection of unseen candid photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and the Royals during a shooting party has been unearthed.
They date from the early 1980s and show a relaxed Diana and Prince Charles in the honeymoon early years of their marriage relaxing with other members of the Royal family away from the public gaze.
The selection of fascinating images belonged to the late housekeeper of Princess Alexandra, the Queen’s cousin, and were discovered by her son in a drawer following her death.
The vendor’s mother was Alexandra’s housekeeper at Thatched House Lodge in Richmond, London, in the 1980s.
In one striking image, Diana is wearing a green coat and a scarf as she smiles into the camera, while Lady Sarah Armstrong (now Chatto), who was chief bridesmaid at Lady Diana and Charles’s wedding in 1981, looks on.
In another more grainy image, Diana is engaged in conversation, while a lady in a headscarf, who is thought to be Princess Margaret, is stood in the background.
Diana can be seen holding a folding chair while Charles, wearing a flat cap, leans on a walking stick.
There is an image of a group of shooters sipping tea including the late 6th Duke of Westminster Gerald Grosvenor.
The photos have emerged for auction and the auctioneer says it is ‘very difficult’ to estimate their value.
Martin Homer, the auctioneer at Littleton Auctions, of Evesham, Worcestershire, said: “The vendor’s mother worked for Princess Alexandra as her housekeeper in the 1980s and these images were found in a drawer by her son after she passed away.
“As well as Diana you can see Prince Charles and various other royals.
“It is very difficult to value something like that.”
Alexandra is the youngest granddaughter of King George V and has been carrying out engagements on behalf of the Queen since the late 1950s.
She was born on Christmas Day 1936, two weeks after the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII.
At the time of her birth, she was sixth in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her cousins Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose, her uncle the Duke of Gloucester, her father the Duke of Kent and her elder brother Prince Edward. In 1963, she married the businessman Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony which was broadcast worldwide on television and watched by an estimated 200 million people.
They had two children, James and Marina, and four grandchildren.
Up until recently she was one of the most active members of the Royal family, taking part in roughly 120 engagements each year.
She recently celebrated her 80th birthday but she is still patron of about 100 organisations. The auction takes place tomorrow (Sat).
Source: EXPRESS CO UK
Tags: Prince Charles, Princess of Wales, Princess Diana, Children, Grandchildren, James and Marina, Engagement, Birthday, Auction, Westminster Abbey, Ceremony, Broadcast, Million, Christmas, Unseen Pictures, Unseen
