Kate Middleton’s late mother in law, Princess Diana, is depicted in a rare photograph with her brother Earl Spencer, which goes under the hammer at an American auction house between 17 Jan 2013 and 24 Jan 2013. RR Auctions of Amherst NH is offering the print. It has been described by the auction room as, “uncommon early 10 x 8 glossy news photo of a young Diana lying in bed, ‘with a friend (actually her Brother) seated behind her reading”. Stamped February 1981 on back, the image is clear. The image has crop lines and ‘Not to be published’ handwritten on the front. Note on back, otherwise light wear. A super early image quite possibly never seen by the public.

Kate Middleton, who spent a quiet holiday away from the prying eyes of the press, is no stranger to private photos being published of herself and her family. This previously unpublished photo of the Princess of Wales is highly sought after. The black-and-white print acquired in the 1980s possibly by one of the photo wire services or dailies, in the UK shows a teenage Lady Diana Spencer, with her brother the future Earl Spencer and another male companion smiling shyly at the camera. The photo is taken as she relaxes comfortably. A bottle of Johnnie Walker whisky sits on the window sill. The words “not to be published” is scrawled across the photo with a marker pen. The back, the photo is dated February 26, 1981. If this is the actual date of the photo, it falls two days after Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince Charles to Lady Diana.

Bobby Livingstone of RR Auctions of Amherst, New Hampshire stated “The photo comes from the private Caren Archive, which acquired it seven years ago when it bought out the photo library of Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper. Livingstone said that the 8×10 inch (20 by 25 centimeter) photo would typically sell for around $1,000, “but because it has that (not-to-be-published) marking on it, we expect it to go for much more.” “It captures the moment when the engagement had been announced two days before and the press was going mad over Diana”.

It often seems like history repeating itself with the fever surrounding Kate Middleton and her husband Prince William. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been laying low since the announcement of her pregnancy, in December.

Photo: RR Auctions of Amherst NH Jan 17th, 2013 and ends Jan 24th, 2013

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