Rare photographs of Princess Diana from her school days in the 1970s have been unearthed for an upcoming auction.
Four colour photographs from Diana's childhood friend Katherine Hanbury depict her at West Heath Girls' School in Kent between 1973 and 1977. The school later closed in 1997.
The former Princess of Wales can be seen in her school dormitory, hanging out with friends – including Tilda Swinton and film director Joanna Hogg – and smiling in front of the school's sports fields.
The items, which also include personal letters and cards, will go on sale at Gorringe's in East Sussex on 7 July, with an estimated take of between £4,000 and £6,000 for the whole collection.
Albert Radford, books and manuscript specialist at Gorringe’s, said: "This intimate archive offers a rare glimpse of Diana, Princess of Wales, before duty and fame had the final say.
"Diana comes across as deeply unassuming and domestically minded; someone whose real ambition was simply to have a family and take pride in ordinary things."
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© Gorringe'sIn one picture, Diana is seen with the school's sports fields in the background.
Though the picture is slightly blurry, she is clearly recognisable wearing a Boho-style midi skirt, brown boots, and a fitted white shirt.
Albert added: "She (Katherine) remembers Diana volunteering to clean the house of the headmistress, and it is memories like this, and the collection that has come to light, that present the real young Diana in a way that is completely at odds with the public persona that was created by others.
"She appears here as a young woman suspended between love and history – hopeful, unguarded, and not yet entirely claimed by the institution that would come to define her.
"In these small, fragile traces, innocence lingers – along with a quiet stubborn belief in something as simple and elusive as love."
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© Gorringe'sThe future royal, who married King Charles in 1981, was also seen sunbathing with her friends in the school grounds, including Tilda Swinton and film director Joanna Hogg.
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© Gorringe'sOne rare photograph showed her wearing a blue turtleneck jumper in her dormitory.
Her hair is straight and longer than it typically was during her years in the royal family.
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© Gorringe'sThe Princess could be seen in the art room and in a block known as the "cowsheds".
In another dormitory picture, she arranged items on a desk.
The photos make for everyday snapchats of the famous royal away from the spotlight.
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© Gorringe'sThe collection also includes several important items of correspondence, including a handwritten birthday card.
Diana's letters
One letter, known as "The Honeymoon letter", is a three-page letter written by Diana during her honeymoon with Charles at Balmoral, dated 27th September 1981.
Addressed “Dear Katherine,” the letter runs to three pages on embossed royal notepaper bearing the crest in red at the head of each sheet.
The letter was sent by registered post (registration number R 286739), indicating that Diana took deliberate care in ensuring its safe delivery. The original envelope survives, bearing two Perth postmarks dated 29 SEP 81 and the royal cypher (EIIR) stamp.
Another item is the order of service for the Thanksgiving service for Diana held at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 19 November 1997.
© Gorringe'sThis is not the widely circulated programme from the state funeral at Westminster Abbey, but rather the rarely seen programme from a separate, more intimate thanksgiving service reportedly held some weeks later.
Diana's relationship with King Charles
The upcoming anniversary on July 1, 2026, marks what would have been Princess Diana's 65th birthday.
© Getty ImagesThe photos are also being released ahead of Diana's 45th wedding anniversary with King Charles on 29 July.
Diana and Charles married at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981, before honeymooning with a 12-day cruise of the Mediterranean on the Royal Yacht Britannia, before heading to Balmoral, the royal family's Scottish residence.
The couple, parents to Prince William and Prince Harry, separated in 1992 before their 1996 divorce. Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, aged 36.
