AddThis SmartLayers

A bit of luck on a Royal visit

The third anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, prompted this memory from former Lincolnshire Echo photographer Peter Washbourn. It first appeared in the Echo, for which he still writes two weekly columns.


It is three years since the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and I can recall two occasions when she visited the county and I took photographs of the visit.

The first time was when the Princess opened part of the Lincoln County Hospital in July 1985.

I was scheduled that day just to cover the arrival of Princess Di, so I was some 10 yards away when she arrived at the entrance. I still managed to get quite a good close-up using a telephoto lens.

The second time was at Grantham, just over two years later.

My appointed spot was on St Peter’s Hill where the Princess would sign the town’s visitors book and then plant a tree.

I arrived in Grantham a few minutes late but as you have to be in place quite a long time before the event it didn’t matter too much.

But what did surprise me was the number of other photographers already there, not just from newspapers, but also from magazines, agencies and freelances.

Nearly all of them had aluminium stepladders with them. There was a whole grandstand of these, three layers high.

The only position I could find was at the end of the line, without steps, so I had to make do and take what pictures I could.

It was not the best position for the booksigning and little better for the tree planting.

Then, Princess Diana walked over to the crowd on my side. There is someone up there who likes me, I thought!

Then, even better, a young man in the crowd took the Princess’ hand and kissed it. Perfect! I had the picture of the day and because I was more mobile than those on the ladders, I got the picture that they didn’t, since they were slightly behind her and couldn’t see him fully.

You just needed a bit of luck in the game sometimes!

  • Peter Washbourn worked for the Lincolnshire Echo for exactly 40 years, joining in March 1956 and retiring in March 1996.
    Since his retirement he has produced specials and books for the Echo on a bygones theme.
    Each week he also produces two pages – Lincolnian’s Diary which is a mixture of memories and items of local history, and Lincoln in the News, which is stories taken from the Echo’s archives.
    His latest book Lincoln: Moments in Time was published this year and features photos from the Echo archives from the 1930s to the 1970s. It is published by Breedon Books of Derby, priced £14.99.

    Send us your memories of journalism before the days of laptops and e-mail. Write to HoldTheFrontPage, Meadow Road, Derby, DE1 2DW, or e-mail us now

    Back to the Bygones index

    On to the Photographic index