Diana’s rare `not to be published` pic up for auction

New York: Princess Diana’s rare teen photograph marked “not to be published” is going up for auction in New York.

The previously unseen black and white picture of a relaxed and beautiful Diana was taken in a Swiss ski chalet while she was on a trip with friends in 1979 or 1980 before her engagement to Prince Charles, the New York Post reported. It shows the then Lady Diana Spencer, who would have been 18 or 19, reclining on a bed next to a mystery young man who is reading a book. On the window next to her is a bottle of whiskey. Probably because of the “intimate” nature of the picture, which was discovered in the Daily Mirror’s photo archive, it is marked, “NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.” The photo carries the date of 26 February 1981 on the back, the date it was sold to The Mirror, two days after Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Diana to Charles. There is much speculation about why the photo was marked “not to be published,” with royal watchers speculating it was to avoid embarrassing Diana and the Royal Family. The mystery man in the picture is Adam Russell, a British deer farmer, and also happens to be the great-grandson of former prime minister Stanley Baldwin. According to Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton, both were injured during the skiing holiday. They kept each other company while the others went skiing and, at the end of the holiday, Russell was somewhat smitten, but nothing happened, Morton said. ANI