‘Out of all the pictures you’ve taken, this is probably my favourite one,’ Princess Diana told her official photographer, Anwar Hussein, on a trip to Lahore. It’s a moving image: he Princess of Wales cradles a young cancer patient, holding the child’s hand as she looks into their eyes. Diana’s own eyes, says Anwar, were filled with tears.
Now, this most cherished of photographs can be seen at a new exhibit. Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition will feature exclusive images taken of The Princess by Anwar, as well as his two photographer sons, Samir and Zak.
The Husseins are accredited by the royal family and therefore had unprecedented access to some of the Princess’ most emblematic, and most intimate, moments. They are a photographic dynasty, having accumulated four decades alongside the royal family, documenting international royal visits, births and deaths, weddings and funerals.
Unprecedented insight: Hussein captures Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales with a two-year-old Prince William in the gardens of Kensington Palace, 1984
Charles and Diana pose for photographs after the announcement of their engagement
Diana, Princess of Wales, visits Atlantic College in Llantwit Major – King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is a notable alumni
Hussein’s photographs capture the importance of motherhood to Princess Diana, pictured here leaving nursery school with Prince Harry in 1989
Diana, Princess of Wales, meets children from The British School in Seoul, South Korea, 1992
The photographs depict the Princess in all her royal regalia, including the Queen Mary Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara, seen here at a 1983 banquet in Auckland, New Zealand
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, dance together during a gala dinner dance at the Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne in 1985
Hussein accompanied the Princess of Wales on many of her humanitarian trips, here capturing Diana as she met patients during a visit to The Molai Centre Leprosy Hospital in Borno, Nigeria
Diana, Princess of Wales, visits the tomb of King Seti l in the Valley of the Kings, 1992
The Princess was beloved by children, and the feeling was mutual. Here, Hussein captured her shaking hands with a child during a walkabout in Masterton, 1983
From her most intimate moments to her most iconic, Hussein was by Diana’s side throughout her life. This image, of her wedding to Prince Charles, was seen by millions.
Diana greets a Maori woman with a traditional hongi nose rub at the Eden Park Stadium in Auckland.
Diana, Princess of Wales, visits the Pyramids in Giza during her official trip to Egypt in 1992
The Prince and Princess of Wales cradle the newborn baby Prince William outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital
Prince William and Prince Harry sit on steps with their mother during a holiday in Majorca , 1988
Diana meets with Chancellor of the UAE University, Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi
Diana’s arrival at Melbourne Airport, 1985
This iconic image, which heralded the fracturing of Charles and Diana’s marriage, was taken by Anwar outside the Taj Mahal in 1992. Prince Charles was busy with other engagements.
Diana accompanies a three-year-old Prince Harry and a five-year-old Prince William on a visit to a police station in 1987
Hussein continued to photograph the royal family after Diana’s death, here capturing a heart-wrenching image of Prince Harry as he views bouquets of flowers left in memory of his mother
Diana, Princess of Wales, during a holiday in Klosters, 1986
‘This is probably my favourite one’: Diana, Princess of Wales, told Anwar that the image of her cradling a young cancer patient during a trip to Lahore, Pakistan, was her most cherished of his images
Charles and Diana visit the Château de Chenonceau on the River Cher, 1988
A gondola ride along Venice’s Grand Canal in 1985
A visit to the Marie Stopes Clinic in India
Diana visits the Ginger Factory in Yandina, Australia, 1983
The Princess of Wales kneels down to talk to young dancers during a visit to the Lalapet High School in India
The banks of the river Dee, 1981
Hussein photographed Prince William’s christening, capturing this intimate moment between mother and son as Prince Charles watches on
Diana leaves the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital following the birth of Prince Harry on September 16, 1984