Lord Patrick Lichfield, who is believed to have taken the photos, was the only photographer allowed to take informal photographs of the royal family, as well as their guests when they returned to Buckingham Palace following the ceremony.
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A rare collection of behind-the-scenes photographs from the royal wedding of Charles and Diana is due to go on sale at auction, 34 years after the images were captured. In another picture, the queen watches the crowds outside her home on a small television screen.
The 12 images – seven black-and-white and five colour prints – are from the wedding reception at Buckingham Palace on 29 July, 1981.
In one action shot, the challenge of the Princess’ astonishing train is neatly illustrated by a scene featuring members of palace staff attempting to arrange it for an official photograph without tripping anyone up.
Charles and Diana look out from the Buckingham Palace balcony at the crowds gathered on the Mall below.
Known only as Henrietta, after a request to remain anonymous, she said: “The black and white ones were printed by me, in the dark room in Aubrey Walk, within hours of the wedding”.
A dozen previously unpublished photographs from the 1981 wedding of Princess Diana to Prince Charles will be up for sale at a Boston auction next month. The color photographs were printed by a trusted laboratory that did the Lichfield studio color work. To my knowledge, none have ever been published.
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“These never-before-seen photographs capture the candid and unrehearsed moments of the fairytale wedding”, said Bobby Livingston, executive VP at RR Auction, who is overseeing the auction at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on September 24.
