Princess Di's last tango

In November 2005, a unique exhibition of photographs opened at Kensington Palace, London, one that will run through June 2007. Shot by Peruvian photographer Mario Testino over one day, it consists of perhaps the only portraits of Princess Diana that do not come with the terrifying composure of her public persona.

In that one assignment (for Vanity Fair), Testino was able to capture an exuberant but vulnerable spirit without the heavy foundations of make-up, or the lacquering of hair coiffed to perfection. Nor was she, specifically on his request, wearing any jewellery.

The occasion was Diana's modelling of clothes she had worn to benefit charities, that were to be auctioned by Christie's. Meredith Etherington Smith from Christie's who met the Princess to speak about it found her "speeding towards me...a tall, electrifying figure, dressed in jeans, a blue blazer and a white t-shirt. She wore no make-up, revealing the truest English rose complexion...I was astonished at the completely different way she looked off-duty. No, not 'normal'. How could anyone that famous look normal? But vivid, energetic and fascinating "" a modern woman. Above all a real person, rather than a formal symbol of royalty."

Smith suggested Testino's name for the assignment "" he was already popular for his Versace campaign with Madonna as model. Later, Diana would tell Smith that shooting with Testino through a day filled with "loud music, laughter and an informal catwalk by the Princess during lunch was one of the happiest in her life".

Mario Testino recalls: "When we had edited the pictures and sent them to Diana for her approval she said to me that her sons told her it was the most like her that they had seen her. That was an amazing compliment..."

The issue of Vanity Fair with the pictures sold out, and Princess Diana herself died in an accident two months after it was published, but for Testino the memories of that day are still special: "She looked so happy and fresh and sure of herself. It was just laughter and laughter and laughter and laughter."

Now those same pictures have been published in a book Diana, Princess of Wales by Mario Testino at Kensington Palace (Taschen), to coincide with the exhibition. These select images from the book are also on exhibit at Kensington Palace...just the push some might need to pay homage to one of the world's most public, yet strangely enigmatic, celebrities of the 20th century.