The Gist
Veteran royal photographer Arthur Edwards has been taking pictures of the royal family for more than 50 years.
In his new book Cup of Tea, Arthur?: My Extraordinary 50 Years Photographing the Royal Family, he explained how one particular photo of Prince Charles and Princess Diana showed how doomed their marriage really was.
The former Prince and Princess of Wales separated just months after the infamous photo was taken in February 1992.
Veteran royal photographer Arthur Edwards has been behind the lens at the royal family’s outings for more than 50 years—and some photos tell a deeper story than some may even realize.
Such was the case for a particular photo, dubbed “the kiss that missed”—a shot of Prince Charles and Princess Diana at the Rajasthan Polo Club in Jaipur, India, on February 13, 1992. Edwards was on hand and captured a photo that he said “was screaming at the reader, ‘Our marriage is in trouble'” (per Marie Claire). In the photo, Charles goes to kiss Diana, but she turns away as he does so, creating an awkward photo of the future king planting a kiss on the side of his wife’s head.
Prince Charles attempting to kiss Princess Diana on the cheek.
Credit: Getty
“Prince Charles probably didn’t think it was a great shot when he went to kiss Diana at the polo match in Jaipur and she turned her head to produce ‘the kiss that missed,'” Edwards wrote in his new book Cup of Tea, Arthur?: My Extraordinary 50 Years Photographing the Royal Family. “I recall being in a room with my satphone, trying to find the satellite to send that picture, which I knew would be on page one because it definitely did not need a caption.”
It was during this same royal tour of India that Diana took her famous photo in front of the Taj Mahal—a monument to love—sitting, poignantly, alone. Charles and Diana officially announced their separation by the end of 1992, ultimately finalizing their divorce on August 28, 1996, just one year and three days before Diana’s untimely death in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997. She was just 36 years old.
Ahead of their separation, Edwards wrote that he confronted Diana about the number of solo engagements she was undertaking rather than making joint appearances with her husband.
This February 13, 1992 photo became known as “the kiss that missed.”
Credit: Getty
“I became so concerned about the amount of time she and Charles were spending apart that, at a cocktail party in Madrid, I asked her to explain,” he wrote in an excerpt from his book shared in The Sun. After Edwards asked, “What’s this all about you leading separate lives?” Diana was coy. The former Princess of Wales replied, “Oh, that!” before making a joke about rumors in the press.
Edwards noted that Diana wasn’t upset about his comment, though, and blamed their often-separate events on the sheer volume of invitations they received. “We couldn’t possibly get through many if we did them all together,” she said. “So we’ve decided to accept as many as we can separately. That means we can get to twice as many places and meet twice as many people.”
Princess Diana’s iconic Taj Mahal photo was taken on the same trip to India.
Credit: Getty
Edwards noted that “Diana was her usual jokey self” when they spoke, and he “believed her.” But on that trip to India in February 1992, his picture really was worth a thousand words.
“When I am with the royal family, I am looking for a picture that tells you the story without a caption—a picture that screams out what it is,” Edwards wrote.
Princess Diana in front of the Taj Mahal on February 11, 1992.
Credit: Getty
In a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph, Edwards spoke about both Charles and Diana, noting that King Charles will point to Edwards and say, “This man has been following me around for 50 years.”
The two have had “storming rows” with one another “where he’s screaming at me,” Edwards said, adding, “but those were a long time ago.” Of the king, Edwards said, “He’s an extraordinary man, and one of the reasons I’m still working is because I like working with him, and I think he’s pleased to see me when I turn up, as well.”
“He’s a very humble man and you can’t praise him,” he continued. “I once said to him, ‘Why can’t you take a compliment?'” Edwards added, “I think he does embrace the job better than anybody, any of the others. He’s tireless. He’s like the Duracell bunny—he just never stops. I’m a kid from east London who didn’t do too well at school, and he’s given me a great life. And I suppose, in return, he’s got a fan for life, and that’s me. He’s a decent, decent man.”
Arthur Edwards on December 4, 2024.
Credit: Getty
Of Diana, Edwards said she was “not just a superstar, but a megastar. But she was a nice megastar. She was fun.” Prince William and Kate Middleton “are just perfect for the role” of king and queen, Edwards said, and of Prince George, “I imagine when he’s the king it’ll be a very different monarchy here than it is today. I think there’ll be no Buckingham Palace as we know it—the gold coaches and everything might have gone, who knows.”
Of being a royal, Edwards told The Telegraph, “You wouldn’t want to do it. Not in a million years would you want to change places with them. It’s a job that you have no choice in, that you’re born into.” As for his own role as someone who photographs them, “It’s been a great life,” he said. “A great and interesting life—and never boring.”
Read the original article on InStyle
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