Candle in the Wind

Sadly I did not get to photograph this wedding

      As I seem to spend most of my waking hours concerning myself with weddings it is hardly surprising if my mind turns quite frequently to iconic brides.
     There is no doubt that Prince William's bride Kate Middleton is a lovely girl, a very pretty girl and a very sane, sensible seeming, girl. She was a beautiful bride, who it easy to believe will make a wonderful wife and mother to William and his children for many years to come.
     But when it comes to icons, I don't think she can hold a candle to the fragile, dangerous and extremely vulnerable glamour of Princess Di.
    And coming across two photographs I shot of her when I was working as newspaper photographer in London in the early eighties you can see some of the reasons why.
     I was lucky enough in those days to photograph many members of the royal family, the Queen, Princess Anne, the Queen mother and Prince Charles as well as Princess Di.
    The only one who held any truck with the pack of photographers, that always surrounded the royal family, was Prince Charles, who I remember at a Sports Festival in Battersea Park seizing a bicycle made for two, leaping upon it and cycling away from us shouting "I bet you can't catch me on this".
      Indeed we couldn't but it made us laugh as we tried vainly to run after him.
      In those days he was nicknamed 'action man' amongst the press corps.
      But the one thing the whole family had in common was a 'Touch me not aura' that was like a transparent fence. I don't remember anyone ever trying to touch any of them.
    However Princess Di was the exact opposite wherever she went she had the famous 'common touch',  an emotional contact with everyone she came in contact with. This often led to members of the general public reaching out for her.

At a birthday party in an old people's home in Wandsworth

   She stood closer to them and shared their experiences as if she were a member of their own family rather than a royal.

Look how close to this barrier Princess Diana is standing

Causing people, complete strangers to reach out and in this case pull her towards them before planting a noisy smacker on her cheek.

For more beautiful and iconic brides visit my website