Longest-Serving Royal Family Photographer Anwar Hussein Dies
The British Royal family’s longest-serving official photographer Anwar Hussein — who was renowned for his informal portraits of Princess Diana — has died at age 85.
Hussein, who changed perceptions of the royal family by shooting candid images instead of the traditionally formal portraits, died of cancer on September 23.
The pioneering photographer is survived by his wife Caroline and their two sons, Zak and Samir. Both of his sons have followed in his footsteps as royal photographers capturing the next generation of British royals.
“Our family is completely heartbroken as we come to terms with Anwar’s passing,” the Hussein family says in a statement to People. “We are however grateful that he lived a full and amazing life, always on his own terms.”
Hussein revolutionized royal photography over the 50 years he was behind the lens. He became the longest-serving photographer on the royal roster — during which time Prince Charles, Princess Anne, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother also used his pictures on official Christmas cards.
According to an obituary in The Times of London, Hussein was born in Chunya, Tanganyika, then a British colony and now known as Tanzania, in 1938.
Hussein started photography as a hobby. But his first big break came in 1968 during an anti-Vietnam War protest outside the American embassy in Grosvenor Square, where he captured the moment a mounted police officer was pulled from his horse.
The photograph made the front pages of newspapers the next day. Hussein then went on to become a celebrity photographer.
When he eventually became a royal photographer in the 1970s, Hussein was dissatisfied with how the royal family was depicted in portraits. Hussein decided to take a different approach in his photography, presenting them in a way that humanized the monarchy and made their image more relatable to the public.
By doing so, Hussein introduced a new, more informal, and spontaneous style of royal photography, breaking away from the stage-managed poses of the Cecil Beaton era, which may appear stiff and outdated to the modern eye.
The photographer’s most iconic shots may be his relaxed and natural pictures of the late Princess Diana. He captured Princess Diana’s striking solo photo at the Taj Mahal in 1992 as her marriage with then-Prince Charles broke down to the moment she wore her “revenge dress” two years later.
According to The Times of London, Hussein’s camera chronicled Princess Diana’s journey from what he called the “Shy Di” teenager to “the very brave and positive woman” she became when her “fairytale” marriage began to fall apart.
One hundred and forty of Anwar’s images of the late princess were displayed in the special exhibit Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition which opened in three American cities in 2023 and was shown in London earlier this year.
