Rare photographs of Princess Diana in her school days are unearthed in childhood friend’s collection
Rare photos of Princess Diana from her school days have been revealed in a new auction collection.
In photos shared by former classmate Katherine Hanbury from West Heath Girls’ School in Kent, the royal can be seen sitting outside in the sun with a host of friends, including actress Tilda Swinton and film director Joanna Hogg.
Others show the former princess of Wales standing outside the art room, one in a block known as the ‘cow stables’, and one outside near the playing fields.
The images are among the items to be auctioned by Ms. Hanbury.
They will go under the hammer at Gorringe’s Fine Art and Interiors sale in Lewes, East Sussex, in July and are expected to fetch up to £6,000.
Albert Radford, book and manuscript specialist at the auction house, said: ‘This intimate archive offers a rare glimpse into Diana, Princess of Wales, before duty and fame had the final say.
‘She appears here as a young woman suspended between love and history; hopeful, unprotected, and not yet fully embraced by the institution that would define it.
‘In these small, fragile scars, innocence remains, along with a stubborn belief in something as simple and elusive as love.’
Rare photos of Diana, Princess of Wales from her school days have been revealed in a new auction collection
The collection also includes a previously unpublished letter to Mrs Hanbury, dated September 27, 1981.
Newlywed Diana told her schoolmate she loved being in Scotland and ‘playing with the adults’ at Balmoral – and also claimed she ‘hated’ London.
He was known to have a ‘complicated’ relationship with being north of the border. Although the Princess loved exploring the private estate at Royal Deeside, she found the castle’s strict protocol, intense security and strict atmosphere tiring and stressful.
But writing to the then-Prince Charles from Balmoral shortly after the wedding, Diana painted a different picture.
He said he enjoyed ‘endless sun’ and ‘calm seas’ during his voyage on Royal Yacht Britannia.
Diana married Charles when she was 20, leaving school at 16 and finishing school in Switzerland before starting to work in a kindergarten.
In the note he wrote on paper with the royal coat of arms and sent to his friend, he said: ‘We had a happy honeymoon with endless sun and thankfully calm seas. We’re now in Scotland until the end of October, which is such a pleasure – I love being out all day and I hate London!’
He added: ‘This [sic] Being married is great – I think that’s it. [sic] Two months later we can say that with confidence!’
In photos shared by former classmate Katherine Hanbury from West Heath Girls’ School in Kent, the royal can be seen sitting outside in the sun with a host of friends, including Tilda Swinton and film director Joanna Hogg.
Others show the princess standing outside the art room, one in a block known as the ‘cow barn’ and one outside near the playing fields.
The images are among the items to be auctioned by Ms Hanbury
The letter shows her trying to adapt to her new life and role within the Royal family: ‘This [sic] ‘A situation of playing with adults!’
Following their wedding on July 29, 1981, Diana and Charles boarded the Royal Yacht Britannia for a 12-day Mediterranean cruise before heading to Balmoral for several months.
Diana married Charles at St Paul’s Cathedral, watched by an estimated 750 million people worldwide.
They separated in 1992 and their 15-year relationship officially ended in August 1996, following the Queen’s intervention.
The princess died in an accident in Paris the following year.
