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A never-before-seen photo of Princess Diana that has been buried for decades has come to light, and it shows the blonde beauty cuddling up to a mystery man shortly before beginning her romance with Prince Charles. Who is this man?

Princess Diana Spencer was the most photographed woman of her era, but there is one photo of her that never saw the light of day until now, and it shows the scandalous Princess being embraced by an unidentified man — the same year she began her romance with Prince Charles. The photo was bought by the UK’s Daily Mirror in 1981, and the editor scrawled it with the words “not to be published,” as someone clearly didn’t want the late Diana’s romantic history revealed. Who is this mystery man?

The Photo of Princess Diana & Mystery Man

The photo was sold to the UK’s Daily Mirror on Feb. 26, 1981, two days after Diana announced her engagement to Charles, and it could have been a massive scoop at the time. However, the editor decided against publishing it — most likely out of respect for the royal family — and the photo went into the archives, never to be seen again, until it was recently found and put up for auction.

The teenage Diana is seen lying on a sofa with a handsome male in the black and white photograph, and it is thought to be taken at a Swiss ski resort in 1979 or 1980, which is just before Charles began courting Diana. Diana, who appears to be 18 or 19 years old at the time, was famous for being popular with men, and in this picture, a bottle of Jonnie Walker whiskey can be seen on the windowsill. How scandalous!

Diana’s Boy

Diana looks sweet and youthful in her embrace with this boy, who is likely to be either of her former boyfriends Rory Scott, or more likely James Colthurst, who went on a skiing holiday with the Princess around that time. James said “She slept on the sofa bed. It was fun. There were lots of pranks — Diana was great company — lovely, outgoing and frivolous and she enjoyed practical jokes,” reports The Daily Mail.

The photo will go up for auction by Caren Archive, an American newspaper collection who bought some archives from the Daily Mirror. Eric Caren, the owner, said to The Daily Mail: “It’s an intimate photo — I don’t know the man in the picture and he could be a friend or a boyfriend. This would certainly not be the way the Royal Family would have wanted Diana to be presented at that moment, given that it came out only two days after her engagement had been announced.”

Eric continued: “The fairytale between her and Charles was still intact at that point. My guess is that it was a privately taken photograph that the Mirror purchased but for some reason did not publish. Why the heck not I don’t know — I don’t know if it was pressure from the Royal family or an internal decision.”

It is a lovely photo of Diana, but it makes sense the Royal family would not have wanted it published. This photo began Diana’s life long relationship with the camera, a relationship that would make her a fashion icon and a tabloid favorite, and ultimately cause her untimely death.

Bidding for the photo will begin on Jan. 17, and it is expected to sell for a significant amount of money.

What do YOU think HollywoodLifers? How much do you think the photo is worth?

– Eleanore Hutch

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