Long before official announcements and palace statements made their split official, those behind the camera lens could already see the cracks forming between then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana‘s marriage.
According to veteran royal photographer Arthur Edwards, one haunting photograph from 1992 spoke volumes louder than any headline ever could. Captured during a moment meant for quiet connection, the single image exposed the deep emotional rift between the couple and revealed a marriage that had hit a heartbreaking point of no return.
In Edward’s new book, Cup of Tea, Arthur?: My Extraordinary 50 Years Photographing the Royal Family, he revealed the moment he knew the marriage of the century had hit its breaking point. The Sun shared a book excerpt.
Edwards explained, “When I am with the Royal Family, I am looking for a picture that tells you the story without a caption — a picture that screams out what it is. Prince Charles probably didn’t think it was a great shot when he went to kiss Diana at the polo match in Jaipur and she turned her head to produce ‘the kiss that missed.'”
Princess Diana Archive / Getty Images
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He continued, “I recall being in a room with my satphone, trying to find the satellite to send that picture, which I knew would be on page one because it definitely did not need a caption. This picture was screaming at the reader, ‘Our marriage is in trouble.'”
Edwards had a warm relationship with the late Princess of Wales. He recalled in his book when Diana debuted a new, ultra-short haircut in 1991. This was during a time when these types of hairstyles were all the rage.
“In spring 1991, her first royal engagement after getting a very short new haircut was a visit to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, to meet the wives of airmen serving in the first Gulf War,” he explained. However, Edwards was shocked when he saw Diana’s new hairstyle up close.
He said, “I was appalled when I saw her boyish hairdo, but at the time Vogue model Linda Evangelista had made short crops ultra-fashionable. The Princess seemed to be following the trend.”
Edwards continued, “At the end of the job, I didn’t waste time with pleasantries and warned her, ‘If you keep cutting your hair short, you’ll end up looking like that pop star Sinead O’Connor.‘ Diana blushed to the roots before pointing at my thinning scalp: ‘At least I’ve got some hair, Arthur,’ she snapped back with a wicked grin.”
The photographer concluded, “I laughed and admitted defeat. As Diana got into the official car, she turned to her chauffeur and said with a chuckle: ‘That shut him up!’ It was the third time in a few months that we’d swapped wisecracks.”
Princess Diana and Prince Charles announced their seperation in December 1992. Following a push from Queen Elizabeth II for a resolution, the couple officially finalized their divorce on August 28, 1996. Just one year later, on August 31, 1997, Diana tragically died at age 36 following a car crash in Paris.
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