Is this Vanity unfair to Diana’s memory?
PRINCE Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall yesterday released a new official picture of them together – taken by Princess Diana’s favourite photographer.
Mario Testino shot the late princess for the cover of Vanity Fair, which was published just weeks before her death in August 1997.
The timing of the new portrait may seem odd to some observers as Charles’s love for Camilla was the cause of a lot of anguish for Diana.
The fact that he and his wife should have chosen to celebrate their relationship with a joint portrait so close to the anniversary of her death might raise eyebrows among their critics.
Legendary South American photographer Testino had captured Diana at her most beautiful in that shoot. Having finally thrown off the shackles of her doomed
Next chapter of her life
marriage to Charles, she was about to embark on the next chapter of her life.
The British royal couple released the photograph in honour of Camilla’s 70th birthday yesterday. The photographer said: ‘I’m honoured to document their royal highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on this very important date.
‘I first photographed the duchess after her wedding to the prince on a commission from British Vogue in 2006, and discovered a kind and beautiful person with a wonderful sense of humour.
‘Doing this latest assignment to celebrate Her Royal Highness’s 70th birthday is a true honour.’
A spokesman for the couple said: ‘The duchess was photographed with the prince at home at Clarence House by worldrenowned photographer Mario Testino who has photographed them both several times before.’
Testino is also a favourite with Princes William and Harry. In the past, the photographer has served them well, both in 2004, when he captured Charles, William and Harry as a stylish threesome, and for the duke and duchess’s official engagement pictures.
Lately, both William and Harry have spoken publicly about their mother, and the psychological effects of her passing.
Next Monday, an ITV documentary presented by the brothers – titled Diana, Our Mother: Her Life And Legacy – will be aired. It will see her sons ‘share some of their earliest memories of her, recall the final contact they had with her before her death in August 1997, and discuss their feelings in the aftermath of that event’.