THE FIRST PICTURE

John Minihan, former Evening Standard photographer: ‘I was having a coffee in South Kensington in September 1980 when I read Nigel Dempster’s column in the Daily Mail, saying Prince Charles had lost interest in Lady Sarah Spencer and was now dating her sister Lady Diana, who was a teacher at the Young England Kindergarten in Pimlico. I had my cameras, so I drove round there and knocked on the door. I met the headmistress and asked if I could photograph Lady Diana. She was very helpful, and despite the fact that parents were arriving in droves with their children she brought me to her. ‘There was a garden at the back and I asked Diana to pose with two children. She explained she would have to get the permission of the parents and went off to do that. It was early in the morning and the sun was shining at an angle in the back garden. Diana was very bubbly and a bit overawed by all the fuss. I asked her to pose with the sun behind her, and her legs were illuminated through her long skirt. I immediately knew I had something special. I came out of that school with a little bit of history. She was clearly in love with Charles, very human and vulnerable. She was incredibly natural and liked being in front of the camera.

‘Within hours the school was under siege, as well as her flat in Coleherne Court. I felt sorry for her and about ten days later, on an impulse, I bought a dozen red roses and went round to her flat. As I knocked on the door I saw her looking out from an upstairs window. She recognised me and came down. Despite the fact I had my cameras, I didn’t try to photograph her. She apologised for being silly trying to avoid the photographers and reporters. She was very young but a lovely girl.’