A Royal Photographer Explains How Princess Diana Always Made the Most of Her Royal Photo Ops
She had a signature move that guaranteed great pics.

- According to one royal photographer, Princess Diana was always one of the most interesting royals to photograph.
- During an interview with Us Weekly, royal photographer Tim Rooke explained that the late royal had a signature move that always guaranteed great photos at royal engagements.
- "She would always just turn before she went into the building, so she’d just look at you at the last second, and it always produced great pictures," he explained.
Princess Diana was, obviously, beloved. Not only did the public adore her, earning her the nickname "The People's Princess," but royal photographers were big fans as well.
In a recent interview with Us Weekly for an episode of Royally Us, royal photographer Tim Rooke explained just what it was about Diana that made her such a joy to photograph at royal events:
"Often, what we do can be very boring. It can be someone walking from a car into a doorway. … What the Princess of Wales used to do, she would always just turn before she went into the building, so she’d just look at you at the last second, and it always produced great pictures. I think I did a picture of her, it was on her 36th birthday, which sadly was her last birthday, and she went to the Tate Gallery and there was a reception. She just turned, just before she went in, and it made an absolutely great picture. Whereas now, the younger royals do it slightly differently. They tend to talk to the person that’s greeting them, which is, of course only polite, but of course, with her, it was great because you always knew you’d get a picture."
Rooke also took a second to reflect on Diana as a person and, unsurprisingly, he had nothing but glowing things to say about the late royal.
"She was a very warm person," he said. "She was great to photograph."
After Diana's tragic death in 1997, Rooke continued to photograph the royal family, particularly Prince Charles, who is apparently also pretty awesome at posing for the camera—but, clearly, in very different ways than Diana.
"I spent years photographing the Prince of Wales, particularly after Princess Diana died," Rooke said of the heir to the British throne. "He’s actually great for taking pictures with. He’ll put hats on and do all sorts of things."
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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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