Princess Diana was “very nervous” for her photoshoot in front of the Giza pyramids.
Princess Diana posed for the now-famous shoot in 1992
The late royal – who died in a car crash at the age of 36 in 1997 – famously posed in front of the Egyptian landmark five years before her tragic death but now the photographer Samir Hussein, who worked alongside his father Anwar, has recalled that she felt “very uneasy” on the day of the shoot.
He told Us Weekly: “My father got into a conversation with her and she said she was very nervous when it came to appearing in front of big iconic landmarks. She was visiting Egypt the next day and she was going to be visiting the pyramids.
“My father said to her ‘Well, you’re so natural, why don’t you just pretend you’re a model?'”
Samir also noted that Princess Diana had a “good relationship” with his dad and that there seemed to be a lot of “humor and trust and…connection” between the two of them on the project, which came in the same year she divorced from the then-Prince Charles.
Samir, along with his family, has worked with the royals for more than 40 years and previously described Diana’s sons Prince William and Prince Harry as “very charming” as he noted that Queen Camilla – who was known as the Ducess of Cornwall in the years prior to the death of Queen Elizabeth – was the “easiest” to photograph.
He said: “Both William and Harry are very charming when you meet them. They have great banter and effortlessly home in on a common ground of interest. It’s very hard not to warm to them when you meet them.
“Probably the easiest to photograph though is the Duchess of Cornwall. She makes a big effort to acknowledge the cameras and is always up for trying things which will help us get a strong photo. She is super friendly, going out of her way to engage with the press.”
