Princess Diana’s favourite photograph revealed as part of new exhibition that captures iconic snapper’s images of royals
THEY have travelled the world with the royals and been present at some of the family’s most intimate moments.
Now, for the first time in the UK, photographers Anwar Hussein, 86, and his two sons, Samir, 44, and Zak, 43, are displaying their remarkable images of Princess Diana and her family, along with personal accounts of the stories behind each picture.
Zak took The Sun for an exclusive tour of the immersive exhibition in London, giving us a first look at a gallery including snaps he and his brother have taken of William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan.
Here he reveals some of the background to his father’s iconic work and recalls what it was like growing up among the royals, plus which photograph was Diana’s all-time favourite . . .
The Princess Diana: Accredited Access exhibition is running from this Saturday, May 25, to Monday, September 2, at Dockside Vaults in London. For tickets, visit princessdianaexhibit.com.
Play date plan
AS a mum, Diana adored sons William and Harry – and once tried to arrange a play date for them with a young Zak and Samir.
Zak, who recalls the Princess watching Charles play polo when he was a child, said: “My dad used to bring my brother and I along. William and Harry were roughly the same ages as Samir and me.
“When I was six or seven, my dad was talking to Diana and when she saw us, she said, ‘You must come to Highgrove!’. My dad said, ‘No, no, you must come to our house’. She said, ‘I think that’s going to be difficult’. Sadly, the meeting never happened.”
Diana’s tears
DIANA herself was captivated by this photo of her cradling a child cancer patient on a private visit to Pakistan in 1997.
Zak said: “This photo my dad remembers taking extremely well. She visited a cancer hospital and met all these children, including this one boy.
“My dad recalls how at ease and comforted the boy looked, and remembers tears in Diana’s eyes as he took the photo.
“Afterwards, Diana said to my dad, ‘Out of all the pictures you’ve taken, this is probably my favourite one’.”
Solo Taj Mahal trip
A VISIT to the Taj Mahal in India in 1992 did not go to plan for Charles and Diana because he had other engagements – so the Princess was pictured there alone.
Zak said: “The royal tours are definitely my favourite part of the job as you get to go to some amazing places.
“My father has always spoken proudly about the Taj Mahal picture. It was a place that Charles always promised to take Diana and, when they were in India, it was on the itinerary. But on the day . . . Diana ended up going and posing alone. So it’s outside this huge monument to love and it showed the loneliness she felt at the time.
“It became such an iconic photo and the bench is now known as the Diana bench.
“Around 24 years later I was on a tour with William and Kate in India and the last engagement was the Taj Mahal. We weren’t sure if they were going to pose in front of it, but they ended up doing it. So it’s amazing that I took a picture of Diana’s son years after my dad took a picture of Diana.”
Shaking hands with ‘Untouchable’
WEARING an elegant cream dress, Princess Diana crouched to clasp the hand of a so-called “Untouchable” – considered the lowest in India’s ancient caste system.
Zak said of the February 1992 image: “She was so good with people and so kind and compassionate, which can be seen in the photo my father took of her in India, shaking hands with the ‘Untouchable’.
“She changed how these people were seen because she was interested in all people from different backgrounds.”
Revenge dress
ON the night in 1994 that the then Prince Charles admitted to cheating on wife Diana, she bravely attended a Vanity Fair party in this figure-hugging outfit which became known as her “revenge dress”.
Zak explained: “Every day as a royal photographer is so different. You’re documenting history, photographing things like Coronations, royal weddings and royal babies.
“Sometimes you don’t even realise you’re documenting history until after, like this photo my father took of Diana wearing her ‘revenge dress’ on the night Charles made his notorious adultery admission on television.”