Channel 5’s royal documentary, Secrets of the Royal Palaces, reflected on a trick Princess Diana played on photographers while dating Prince Charles. Royal experts praised Diana for using a compact mirror to shine at photographers secretly attempting to take pictures of Prince Charles and Princess Diana as he fished. This was very early in the relationship between the would-be married royal couple and Diana’s antics made it very difficult for photographers to get a clear picture of the two of them together.
Photographer Ken Lennox said: “I arrived early because Prince Charles would often do a spot of fishing in the River Dee
“As I walked from the car to the river I saw that there was a young girl there, blonde, quite close to Prince Charles.
“The girl saw me and left Prince Charles and went into some giant trees.
“The next thing I saw was a compact mirror coming out from behind a tree.”
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Royal expert Penny Junor explained that Diana continued this manoeuvre so that she could see the photographers who could only see the glint from the mirror.
The documentary narrator Glynis Barber said: “From her very first encounter with the photographers, who would later become a permanent fixture in her life, Princess Diana proved her self savvy.”
Mr Lennox continued: “She deliberately did not want to be photographed.
“She used that mirror as she walked away and when I moved to either side to try and photograph her, she used the mirror to keep a tree between me and her.
“It was very clever.”
Richard Kay also praised Diana for her ingenuity and quick thinking.
He said: “I think there is a very good argument for saying the way she behaved on that morning on the river bank did display an early sign of her unique savviness when it came to spotting a camera.
“That and also the activities of the press.”
Royal commentator Simon Vigar added: “It must have been dawning on Princess Diana then what she was letting herself in for.”
Mr Lennox was eventually able to get a photograph of the two together by the river.
Although he hinted that she eventually let him as she turned to face the camera and look directly at him.
