Never-before-seen photos of Princess Diana, King Charles and Prince William paint intimate family portrait away from royal life

Previously unseen photos of Princess Diana, King Charles and a three-month-old Prince William (opens in new tab) that paint an intimate picture of the non-public side of royals' lives, have been released ahead of their auction next month.

• Never-before-seen photos Princess Diana, King Charles and an infant Prince William taken at Balmoral Castle, have been released ahead of their auction date set for next month.
• The intimate photos give a rare glimpse into the private life of the royals, showing them  in candid photos taken away from the prying eyes of the media.
• In other royal news (opens in new tab), Prince William reveals the real reason he doesn’t wear his glasses on royal engagements (opens in new tab).

22 photographs showing King Charles, Princess Diana and a three-month-old Prince William enjoying private family life will be sold at Willingham Auctions in Cambridgeshire next month.

According to The Daily Mail, the set of pictures were taken at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in September 1982, just three months after Prince William was born. The pictures are being sold by Baron King, a friend of the royal family who also features in the photos.

The photographs give a rare glimpse into the non-public side of the royals' lives, showing Diana looking relaxed in casual clothes and rain boots. Two of the images show heartwarming moments of the then 21-year-old Princess of Wales cuddling Prince William.

Stephen Drake, who is coordinating the sale at Willingham Auctions, said "the sky is the limit" when asked how much the photos could sell for.

He told The Mirror, "There were lots of photos taken of Princess Diana, but these offer a really personal insight. The collection of photos is a real one-off; you will never come across another set of photos like this.

"In the photos, Diana, Charles and William look like a complete family group. You see a lot of press photos but these are nothing like those, they are being photographed as normal people, which for royalty is an amazing experience to see."

"As auctioneers, we are only custodians of our items for a short amount of time, and it's very exciting to have them here. It really is causing a huge amount of interest. The sky is the limit on the price. We have never had anything like this before. Plenty of pictures have been sold of Princess Diana before, but nothing as relaxed as this and nothing as early in her marriage."

Drake also explained that the picture set comes with the photo's negatives, so the buyer will be in complete control of how many copies are made - if any are. Currently, no other copies of these pictures are known to exist and only the few released by the auction house for promotion have ever been seen.

The Balmoral photos and their original negatives will be auctioned by Willingham Auctions in Cambridgeshire on Saturday 4 March 2023.

A selection of Princess Diana's personal items have recently been sold at auction, with all of the pieces garnering much attention and selling for significant amounts.

Last week, a collection of Diana's letters written to friends during her messy divorce from King Charles sold at auction for $169,663. If you thought that was a hefty price, in January, a Victor Edelstein gown worn by the late Princess several times in the 1990s sold for $604,800 — more than five times its pre-auction estimate.

Related articles:

• Where is Princess Diana buried and can you visit her grave? (opens in new tab)
• Princess Diana's surprising confession over Charles's divorce unearthed in letters sold for thousands (opens in new tab)
• When did Princess Diana die and how old was she? (opens in new tab)
• Princess Diana’s biographer reveals the one question he never dared to ask her (opens in new tab)
• How old was Diana when she got married? Plus Diana and Charles' age difference (opens in new tab)