Unseen honeymoon pictures reveal Princess Diana and 'Crazy Horse' Charles relaxing on board the Royal Yacht Britannia

By Paul Harris

Last updated at 7:18 PM on 4th November 2011


They were young, happy and relaxed.

From their smiles, you could almost guess they were in love (‘whatever “in love” means’, to borrow Prince Charles’s less than romantic phrase).

But these remarkably candid photos of Charles and Diana on honeymoon give no clue to the turmoil and torment to follow. Instead, they are a previously unseen record of the first hours the Prince and Princess of Wales spent together as man and wife.

The black and white images were taken by an official photographer on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, on which the couple spent their honeymoon.

Britannia's official photographer took pictures of Charles and Diana on board the Britannia during their 1981 honeymoon - when Prince Charles earned the nickname Crazy Horse for his aggressive tactics at deck hockey

The future King 'took no prisoners' and went in hard with his hockey stick against opponents in supposedly friendly games, crewman Terry Smith said

Copies were later made available to the crew – a gesture to reward their loyalty and service to the newlyweds everyone assumed would one day be king and queen.

Among those who acquired a set was Terry Smith, then a petty officer on Britannia. And for the next 30 years he treasured the photos and the memories they evoked of those days in the summer of 1981.



Now they are have resurfaced on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow after Mr Smith, 67, presented them for valuation.

Among the pictures are ones of Diana being presented to the crew, at the bar of the officers’ mess and laughing with her new husband.

One of the photographs shows a 20-year-old Diana waits for the half a shandy she ordered on board the Britannia when she visited the officers' mess - Charles went for an orange juice

An expert on the Antiques Roadshow - seen here inspecting the images - valued the photographs at £800

One picture from which the 20-year-old princess is absent, however, is a snap that shows 22 crewmen taking a dip in the Mediterranean.

Look closely and it seems they might be beckoning someone to join them. Moments later, Mr Smith recalls, Diana did just that.

‘She wasn’t too scared about jumping in the water. I have looked closely at the photo of the lads in the sea to see if she is in it but she must have jumped in after it was taken,’ he said.

Mr Smith, from Aberystwyth, west Wales, added: ‘Charles and Diana were very friendly and chatty. They could relax here, and it was nice to see them on board in normal clothing like ourselves – just a pair of jeans and T-shirts. Diana was like a breath of fresh air, like a girl just out of school.

‘They visited the mess when I happened to be serving at the bar. When they came in I served them a drink. She had a shandy and Charles had a boring orange juice.’

The honeymoon cruise began in Gibraltar and took the couple on a rare excursion away from the limelight. At one stage they went ashore in Greece for a romantic barbecue by themselves on the beach, Mr Smith remembers.

The set of prints was valued at £800 when Antiques Roadshow expert Katherine Higgins saw them on the show’s visit to Aberystwyth, due to be screened tomorrow.

She told Mr Smith: ‘Relaxed is clearly what comes across in this incredible collection.

‘They give a good insight into the royal couple off duty.’

The Britannia photographer made the photographs available to the crew, and Terry Smith took up his offer to purchase a selection

The photos, which came to light when Mr Smith took them to the Antiques Road Show, reveal how Charles and Di enjoyed entertainment on board the Britannia, including a tug 'o war (the Royals' heads are just visible)

The couple enjoyed swimming off the yacht in the Med - although as Diana jumped in after the picture was taken, she does not feature in the shot

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Following in Diana's footsteps: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit cancer-stricken children at Royal Marsden hospital

By Maysa Rawi

Last updated at 4:57 PM on 29th September 2011


It was the hospital Princess Diana chose for her first solo charity trip.

So it is rather fitting that the Duchess of Cambridge should follow suit for her second official engagement since the Royal Wedding with husband Prince William today.

Kate was all smiles in an elegant in cream Amanda Wakeley dress and her favourite L.K. Bennett nude heels at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in South London.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Royal Marsden to open a new £18 million children's cancer unit in Sutton, Surrey today

A sleep-deprived William, who flew a mercy mission just hours before opening the new £18 million children's cancer unit, looked slightly less sprightly in a navy suit.

William and Kate, both 29, are touring the Oak Centre for Children and Young People which has been built to treat day and inpatients, where they will meet medical staff, young patients and their parents.

During the visit, William will be reunited with Alice Marples, a cancer patient who interviewed him two years ago for the CBBC Newsround programme.

The Duchess is spending her time trying to get to know various charities and good causes so she can decide what her future role will be

Welcome wagon: The Duchess, wearing an Amanda Wakeley dress, greets some fans

Children and hospital staff wait for the couple to arrive

The sleep-deprived Duke flew a mercy mission to take a sailor to see a seriously-ill relative just hours before today's even, left, while Kate looked as glossy as usual

The 12-year-old, who is due to fly to America to receive radiotherapy for a brain tumour, presented Kate with a bouquet of flowers when she arrived at the hospital.

A St James's Palace spokesman told the London Evening Standard: 'The Duke is looking forward to seeing Alice again and finding out how she has been.

'Through his close connection with the hospital he has met many inspirational young people, like Alice, who have shown such bravery in battling their illness.

Prince William, greeting hospital staff, was also invited to unveil a plaque to officially open the centre

William and Kate, both 29, are touring the Oak Centre for Children and Young People

'Tomorrow, he is keen to show the Duchess the incredible work the Royal Marsden does to help Alice and others like her.'
William is president of the Royal Marsden - the first hospital in the world dedicated to cancer treatment and research into the causes of the disease.

Kate will recieve a bouquet of flowers from Alice Marples, a cancer patient who interviewed Prince William two years ago

First solo trip: Diana visited the Royal Marsden in 1982

He took over from his mother, who took on the role in 1989 until her death in 1997.

William went without sleep last night as he ferried the serviceman from a warship off the Isle of Man to Sandhurst in Surrey.

The royal flew back to his base at RAF Valley on Anglesey just after 9am before making the trip to open the Royal Marsden's new £18 million children's cancer unit in Sutton, south London, a few miles from Sandhurst.

The duke, an RAF search and rescue force helicopter co-pilot, carried out the 'compassionate call-out' during a normal 24-hour shift which also saw him help pick up a casualty with serious head injuries in Snowdonia.

A St James's Palace spokesman said the duke would have got little, if any, sleep and was expected to arrive at Oak Centre for Children and Young People on a royal flight helicopter this afternoon.

His wife, who was in London, was arriving by car.

The royal couple have been enjoying married life together in North Wales since their glittering nuptials in April.

They have deliberately kept a low profile over recent months as the Duke, a flight lieutenant with the RAF Search and Rescue Force, is focusing on earning a promotion to captain.

The Royal Marsden is a cancer centre specialising in diagnosis, treatment, research and education

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Diana's diamonds: William gives Kate his mother's favourite earrings

By Tamara Cohen

Last updated at 11:27 AM on 25th July 2011


She already wears Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Now the Duchess of Cambridge has another heirloom from her husband’s late mother.

Prince William has given her a pair of Diana’s favourite earrings, also in matching sapphire and diamonds.

Kate, 29, has given them her own style twist, having the studs remodelled into drop earrings.

Favourite: Kate wore the remodelled earrings on tour in Canada and Diana was regularly spotted wearing the jewellery

A courtier is quoted as saying: ‘Now they’re married, William wanted her to have some of his mother’s favourite pieces.’

William said he proposed to Kate with Diana’s 19-carat engagement ring so his mother could be part of the occasion.


The Duchess of Cambridge wore them for the first time when she watched Andy Murray from the Royal Box at Wimbledon last month and also wore them during the couple's official visit to Canada and America.

The earrings were thought to be among Diana's most precious jewels and she was spotted wearing them at dozens of events during the 1980s and 1990s.

Comparisons: From the Duchess' wedding day commentators were already comparing the couple to Princess Diana and Prince Charles

 

It is not the first time the Duchess' style has been compared with the late Princess Diana's.

Kate wore a similar outfit to that of Princess Diana when she visited Canada by donning a maple leaf hat.

Both sported red hats with white dresses during their official visits but Princess Diana made a slightly bolder statement by wearing a matching red scarf.

Crowds across the globe were eager to make comparisons as Diana and Charles made a similar tour in 1983.

The People's Princess: Diana devoted her time to charity work..

And Kate was seen to be equally interested in speaking to people on the official Canada tour, doing impromptu walkabouts

Princess Diana was the main attraction with thousands of people waved flags and shouted the slogan 'We Want Di'.

And Prince William's new wife was also a real crowd pleaser and her wardrobe had been one of the main topics of discussion.

The couple are currently deciding on a permanent London base, and are tipped to take Apartment 1a in Kensington Palace, a lavish 19-room suite that was once the home of the late Princess Margaret.

It was reported the couple also considered Apartments 8 and 9, the former marital home of Charles and Diana where William grew up, but Kate is said to have been uncomfortable with the idea.

'They have been to look around Margaret's apartment and like it very much,' said a source.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2018210/Prince-William-gives-Kate-Middleton-mother-Dianas-favourite-diamond-earrings.html#ixzz1TC3ap9EH