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

The rare pictures will be sold at auction next month

King Charles, Princess Diana and Prince William
(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images/Future)

Previously unseen photos of Princess DianaKing Charles and a three-month-old Prince William that paint an intimate picture of the non-public side of royals' lives, have been released ahead of their auction next month.

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.

Princess Diana

(Image credit: WILLINGHAM AUCTIONS/ BAV MEDIA/SPLASH NEWS ONLINE)

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."

King Charles and Prince William

(Image credit: WILLINGHAM AUCTIONS/ BAV MEDIA/SPLASH NEWS ONLINE)

"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."

Princess Diana and Prince William

(Image credit: WILLINGHAM AUCTIONS/ BAV MEDIA/SPLASH NEWS ONLINE)

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.

Princess Diana

(Image credit: WILLINGHAM AUCTIONS/ BAV MEDIA/SPLASH NEWS ONLINE)

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.

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News writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.