From The Straits Times    |

When then-Lady Diana Spencer wed Charles, Prince of Wales at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London on July 29, 1981, the world was enraptured by the sheer grandeur and pomp.

The grand settings at the ceremony, the bride’s massive wedding gown (which set off the trend for large gowns of the decade), and the fact that the young lady was marrying her prince in a “fairytale wedding”.

24 years later, candid, informal photographs, taken by the official wedding photographer, Lord Patrick Lichfield, who died at age 66 in 2005, have been released by his assistant who worked for him then.

The snaps, which are up for bidding at RR Auctions, show the royal family behind the scenes preparing for public appearances, official photographs, and other heartwarming scenes.

All photos: RR Auctions/Patrick Lichfield

See also: 4 love lessons we can all learn from Bhutan’s royal couple, and Sweden’s real-life fairytale royal wedding