This rare photo of Princess Diana is making our hearts flutter

Diana Spencer — also known as Princess Diana and “the people’s princess” — is known for being a global icon and a role model for women everywhere. We’re coming up on 18 years since the woman who captured the heart of the world was tragically killed in a car accident. Though we’ve seen many pictures of the regal princess, a rare photo has been released: the first ever, in fact, taken when she was just a one-month-old baby. The photo is not only a breathtaking piece of history, but it has major significance.

The beautiful black-and-white photograph depicts Lord and Lady Althrope holding their infant daughter, who is donning a “borrowed christening dress.” Dated August 1961 (almost 54 years ago!), the picture was taken on Princess Diana’s christening day, and it’s chillingly beautiful to look at.

Her son William and daughter in-law Kate Middleton, who had baby Charlotte (Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, after the late princess) just two and a half months ago, had Charlotte christened in the very same church in which this picture was taken as an ode to Princess Diana: St. Mary Magdalene’s Church on Queen Elizabeth II’s Sandringham Estate, according to People.

“No other royal has made such a statement,” Diana’s ex-bodyguard Ken Wharfe, author of Closely Guarded Secret, told People. “They could have chosen St. George’s Windsor, but William is keen to subtly keep the legend alive. There are more references being made to Diana than there ever have been. This is a silent reference, if you like.”

But that’s not all. Kate and William chose Princess Diana’s favorite photographer to take Charlotte’s christening pictures. The couple is also raising baby Charlotte in Sandringham, Norfolk, where Diana grew up, and has appointed Diana’s niece, Laura Fellowes, as Princess Charlotte’s godmother. It’s clear that Kate and William are actively trying to keep the late princess’s spirit alive and parent their young daughter in a way that she would be proud of, even if she’s not here to see it.

“William and Kate and Prince Harry see the good in [Diana]. They realize how important, how influential, their mother was,” Wharfe told People. “It’s a clear indication of where they are going. After a period of her memory being in the wilderness, they are consciously, or unconsciously, bringing their mother into the fold.”

This picture is truly making our hearts melt, and William and Kate’s determination to keep Princess Diana’s memory alive almost 18 years after her death is so, so amazing and beautiful. She may be gone from this Earth, but her legacy remains. She will remain in the hearts and minds of people all over the world for ages to come.

Image via Twitter, IMDb

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