Iconic Photos

Famous, Infamous and Iconic Photos

Diana at the Taj Mahal

with 21 comments

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During her trip to India with Prince Charles in 1992, Lady Diana is pictured alone at the Taj Mahal. On a bench (now affectionately known as Lady Di’s Chair) in front of the greatest monument to love, Lady Diana was photographed alone. She sat by herself and posed for customary photographs on a bench in front of the marble mausoleum, during the visit that took place as her marriage to Prince Charles was collapsing.

A statement on her solitude and a symbol of her failing marriage, the photograph shifted the public sympathy from the stoic prince to seemingly vulnerable princess. The image would come to epitomize the couple’s estrangement. They split up the same year.

Written by Alex Selwyn-Holmes

May 25, 2009 at 11:05 pm

Posted in Politics, Society

Tagged with ,

21 Responses

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  1. wow, these photos are great. I’ve never seen them before, thanks for sharing.

    Chris

    May 28, 2009 at 7:30 pm

  2. I love these pics, as well as lady di. i have always been her great fan to date. rip where ever you are !!

    Viren

    October 7, 2009 at 10:23 pm

  3. Diana and I were born in the same year and I felt so much for her and now I’m 48 and she never reached it, I am going to be there at the Taj mahal in a few weeks and seem to follow in her footsteps threw broken marriages, I am going to sit were she sat and have my picture taken. As far as we are concerned Di was our Queen and always will be. I’m an Australian and proud of it…Thanks for the memories Di, you were the best xx

    Kelli

    March 9, 2010 at 9:07 am

  4. Good luck having a photo like this taken. Just remember there will be about a million other people in the shot, trying to do the same thing! The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays -perhaps that’s when Princess Diana was there.

    kj

    April 1, 2010 at 11:53 pm

    • They close the Taj to regular tourists when there is a visiting dignitary – it is also closed on Fridays. Keep this in mind as when we were there we heard of a lady who arrived on Thursay arvo and a US Dignitary arriving on the Saturday – she missed out!!

      AJ

      October 7, 2012 at 11:26 pm

  5. [...] a series of domestic and international embarrassments (a tell-tale book, “Squidgy”, Taj Mahal incident, the spurned polo kiss) were only to be coupled by their respective adulteries. Finally in 1992 [...]

  6. The Iconic photo as it is called was actually quite manufactured, that bench was not there prior to dianas’ visit in 1992, i was there in 1990 & 1991 and where the bench is in these photos was actually bushes, so to call it iconic and suggest that people always sat there is rubbish, given the fact that for the previous 439 years there was not even a seat!

    Don

    June 11, 2010 at 8:50 pm

    • no one suggested that people always sat there or that it had been there before. it is iconic because it became a metaphor for her failing marriage (alone in front of a monument to love – get it?), not because it’s some old bench that has been put there by the original construction workers to have lunch breaks on.

      publiclyvoidpointducks

      April 12, 2011 at 10:41 pm

    • The bench had been there before. Jackie Kennedy in 1962:

      Ben

      June 25, 2012 at 2:00 pm

  7. [...] you had your photo taken where Princess Diana once sat? Or walked the beautiful gardens? If you have, tweet us (@7Wondersin7Days) or contact us on [...]

  8. [...] At the time we reckoned our tushes were warming the exact bench on which Princess Diana was photographed in 1992 during a state visit to India while her marriage to Charles was in a state of collapse. (They separated later the same year.) After researching for this post, I’m afraid it was the wrong bench. The one behind Hubby’s head appears to be more accurate. You can check for yourself here. [...]

  9. were is the famous rat

    yves

    July 30, 2011 at 8:19 pm

  10. who was the original photographer?

    scout

    September 15, 2011 at 3:09 pm

  11. [...] This bench is known as the “Princess Di Bench.” There is a famous photo taken of Princess Di on this bench in front of the Taj Mahal, taken in 1992. (more about that here) [...]

  12. [...] Taj.  Lady Di’s 1992 visit to Agra is forever ingrained in our conscience, as a result of her iconic photo in front of the Taj Mahal.   Finally, the representation of the building, in our collective [...]

  13. […] foto, sentado no mesmo banco onde a Princesa Diana foi fotografada 21 anos antes, em 1992, quando viajou à Índia com o Príncipe Charles. Além da […]

  14. If you read anything about Lady Diana, it was that she hated to be called Lady Di.

    caron

    February 6, 2014 at 8:36 pm

  15. […] companions taken at the Taj. Striking poignant poses , sitting on whats come to be known as ‘Lady Di’s chair’ named after Princess Diana ( sitting alone) ! Our guide told us of Shah Jehans plans to build a replica of the Taj adjacent to the current […]

    Wah Taj ! | Kavi Arasu

    April 19, 2014 at 6:19 am

  16. […] tried to get the obligatory ‘Diana photo’ with Debbie sitting on the bench where Diana was pictured alone but it proved totally […]


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