Photographer Shares Last Moments With Princess Diana
Feb. 2, 2006 — -- When Princess Diana walked into the room, photographer Mario Testino felt the pressure of working with a woman who embodied royalty and seemingly England itself.
But within moments, Testino discovered the woman behind the crown.
"She was quite shy, I think, when she first walked in," Testino said. "I asked her -- because I had been warned I should address her as ma'am -- and I said that will be difficult because I call my mother ma'am and you're younger. She said: 'Call me Diana.'"
The portrait session was Princess Diana's last, just five months before her death on Aug. 31, 1997. Testino has published the never-before-seen photographs in a new book, "Diana Princess of Wales by Mario Testino at Kensington Palace."
Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, have said the photos represent most accurately the mother they really knew. They show Diana, with little makeup and simple hair, having fun.
Testino said he was still haunted by one moment he shared with the princess, when Diana told him she always knew, since she was a child, that something big would happen to her.
"Whether that was her early death or her marrying the future king of England, I don't know what she really meant," Testino said. "But it's true that she did have a big role in life, even if it was a short one. I think she touched the hearts of many, many people."
Princess Diana would have been 46 this year.
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