The hidden stories behind Princess Diana’s famous photographs will be shared in a blockbuster exhibition coming to London for the first time.
Iconic moments including Diana’s wedding to Charles in 1981, her black ‘revenge dress’ and her innovative sportswear style are featured in Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition.
Photographers Anwar Hussein and his two sons Samir and Zak will share their extraordinary photographs of the late princess and her family, along with their first-hand accounts of the stories behind each moment.
It has so far performed in Melbourne, South Carolina, Las Vegas and more, and is now coming to St Katharine Docks in London for the first time from May 25.
The exhibition consists of “larger-than-life images, custom art installations and first-hand narration” in a 60-minute experience that delves into the lives of the royal family.
The hidden stories behind Princess Diana’s famous photographs will be shared in a blockbuster exhibition coming to London for the first time. Pictured: Diana’s ‘revenge dress’
Diana attends Ascot the month before her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981 wearing a striped dress and matching lilac hat.
The exhibition shares several lesser-known images, such as this one of Diana wearing a casual white shirt for a visit to Ayers Rock during a royal tour of Australia in 1983.
Anwar said Diana told him that a photo of her cradling a child during a visit to a hospital in Lahore in 1996 was her “favorite photograph of all.”
Accredited by the Royal Family, the Husseins are the oldest family of official royal photographers, having collectively spent more than four decades working side by side with the princess and her family.
They were given special access to document the lives of royals in public, as well as to capture more intimate and private moments, including the unforgettable revenge dress that dared to break royal protocol and the princess’s simple handshake with a cancer patient. AIDS that showed the world how to be human.
Samir and Zak followed in their father’s footsteps into royal photography by capturing the lives of Diana’s children, Prince William and Prince Harry, and are now celebrated, multi-award-winning photographers.
One story the exhibition tells is the moving image of Diana cradling a sick child in her arms during her visit to Imran Khan’s cancer hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, in April 1996.
The photographers recount the moment: ‘Diana later told me that of so many photographs that had been taken of her, this was her favorite photograph of all…
“He was very sad when he discovered that the child had died shortly after his visit.”
The exhibition tells how iconic photographs of Diana wearing her ‘Fly Virgin Atlantic’ sweater, a gift from Sir Richard Branson, may never have come to light without the personal relationship between Anwar and the princess.
Anwar Hussein and his two sons Samir and Zak (pictured outside Buckingham Palace) will share their extraordinary photographs of the late princess and her family.
Some of the photographs on display include the infamous image of Diana sitting alone in front of the Taj Mahal as her marriage to Prince Charles fell apart.
The photos of Diana wearing her Virgin Atlantic sweatshirt in 1995 may never have come to light without a conversation with photographer Anwar.
Princess Diana attends a passing out parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Surrey, April 1987
Princess Diana visits the Mianpur Aging Welfare Center in India in February 1992, wearing a cream-colored dress with a pleated skirt and gold buttons designed by Catherine Walker.
Diana wearing a pink dress with blue polka dots and a pink jacket by Paul Costelloe
In a cream dress in 1992 for a Plácido Domingo event in Covent Garden, London
Diana was often seen wearing it when leaving the gym at the Chelsea Harbor Club in London.
Anwar’s children describe: ‘My father had mentioned to Diana that he wanted to see how much she cared about her health and be inspired by her.
“She agreed, so she took these pictures of Diana leaving the gym.
“His popularity soared as the public showed its adoration for his willingness to go against the grain and forego formalities.”
In addition to the famous revenge dress and the iconic photo of Diana at the Taj Mahal, the family also shed light on photos of Diana that the public hasn’t seen as often.
One shows Diana wearing a casual white shirt for a visit to Ayers Rock during a royal tour of Australia in 1983.
Anwar is a veteran royal family photographer and his family has spent four decades working alongside them.
Diana in her wedding carriage during her marriage to Charles in 1981
In a strapless black dress for her first official public engagement with Charles in March 1981, at a gala event at Goldsmith’s Hall to benefit the Royal Opera House.
Diana in Melbourne, Australia 1988, visiting the Victorian College of the Arts School of Music
Images from the exhibition, which will arrive at St Katharine Docks from May 25
It also features other iconic photographs of the Royal Family, such as those of Prince Harry and Meghan.
In another, she attends Ascot the month before her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981 in a striped dress and matching lilac hat.
Anwar said: “I feel honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to photograph Princess Diana so extensively and to have had the pleasure of having many friendly and deep conversations with her.
“I am delighted that the images captured, as well as those of my children, will return to London to recognize and commemorate such an extraordinary woman and her children.
“There are so many memories of our two families connecting and creating a special relationship, which I am pleased to be able to show in such a unique way through the exhibition.”
The Princess Diana: Accredited Access exhibition will open on 25 May 2024 at Dockside Vaults in St Katharine Docks until 2 September.
Tickets will be available to book from 10am on Thursday 29 February and can be booked now from £17 at PrincessDiana.London.