During her trip to India with Prince Charles in 1992, Lady Diana is pictured alone at the Taj Mahal. On a bench (now affectionately known as Lady Di’s Chair) in front of the greatest monument to love, Lady Diana was photographed alone. She sat by herself and posed for customary photographs on a bench in front of the marble mausoleum, during the visit that took place as her marriage to Prince Charles was collapsing.
A statement on her solitude and a symbol of her failing marriage, the photograph shifted the public sympathy from the stoic prince to seemingly vulnerable princess. The image would come to epitomize the couple’s estrangement. They split up the same year.
Iconic Photos 
wow, these photos are great. I’ve never seen them before, thanks for sharing.
I love these pics, as well as lady di. i have always been her great fan to date. rip where ever you are !!
Diana and I were born in the same year and I felt so much for her and now I’m 48 and she never reached it, I am going to be there at the Taj mahal in a few weeks and seem to follow in her footsteps threw broken marriages, I am going to sit were she sat and have my picture taken. As far as we are concerned Di was our Queen and always will be. I’m an Australian and proud of it…Thanks for the memories Di, you were the best xx
Good luck having a photo like this taken. Just remember there will be about a million other people in the shot, trying to do the same thing! The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays -perhaps that’s when Princess Diana was there.
They close the Taj to regular tourists when there is a visiting dignitary – it is also closed on Fridays. Keep this in mind as when we were there we heard of a lady who arrived on Thursay arvo and a US Dignitary arriving on the Saturday – she missed out!!
[…] a series of domestic and international embarrassments (a tell-tale book, “Squidgy”, Taj Mahal incident, the spurned polo kiss) were only to be coupled by their respective adulteries. Finally in 1992 […]
The Iconic photo as it is called was actually quite manufactured, that bench was not there prior to dianas’ visit in 1992, i was there in 1990 & 1991 and where the bench is in these photos was actually bushes, so to call it iconic and suggest that people always sat there is rubbish, given the fact that for the previous 439 years there was not even a seat!
no one suggested that people always sat there or that it had been there before. it is iconic because it became a metaphor for her failing marriage (alone in front of a monument to love – get it?), not because it’s some old bench that has been put there by the original construction workers to have lunch breaks on.
The bench had been there before. Jackie Kennedy in 1962:
I wonder how many years it took them to build finish the Taj Mahal.
[…] you had your photo taken where Princess Diana once sat? Or walked the beautiful gardens? If you have, tweet us (@7Wondersin7Days) or contact us on […]
[…] At the time we reckoned our tushes were warming the exact bench on which Princess Diana was photographed in 1992 during a state visit to India while her marriage to Charles was in a state of collapse. (They separated later the same year.) After researching for this post, I’m afraid it was the wrong bench. The one behind Hubby’s head appears to be more accurate. You can check for yourself here. […]
were is the famous rat
who was the original photographer?
[…] This bench is known as the “Princess Di Bench.” There is a famous photo taken of Princess Di on this bench in front of the Taj Mahal, taken in 1992. (more about that here) […]
[…] https://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/diana-at-the-taj-mahal/ […]
[…] Taj. Lady Di’s 1992 visit to Agra is forever ingrained in our conscience, as a result of her iconic photo in front of the Taj Mahal. Finally, the representation of the building, in our collective […]
[…] foto, sentado no mesmo banco onde a Princesa Diana foi fotografada 21 anos antes, em 1992, quando viajou à Índia com o Príncipe Charles. Além da […]
[…] https://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/diana-at-the-taj-mahal/ […]
If you read anything about Lady Diana, it was that she hated to be called Lady Di.
[…] companions taken at the Taj. Striking poignant poses , sitting on whats come to be known as ‘Lady Di’s chair’ named after Princess Diana ( sitting alone) ! Our guide told us of Shah Jehans plans to build a replica of the Taj adjacent to the current […]
[…] tried to get the obligatory ‘Diana photo’ with Debbie sitting on the bench where Diana was pictured alone but it proved totally […]
[…] deafening noise. Out of a flying machine stepped the most powerful man on earth. Barack Obama, like Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal, knew the key to these picture opportunities was to be alone, communing with the gods of place. […]
[…] deafening noise. Out of a flying machine stepped the most powerful man on earth. Barack Obama, like Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal, knew the key to these picture opportunities was to be alone, communing with the gods of place. […]
[…] about what I would wear before I posed in front of the Taj Mahal (thanks for the pressure, Princess Diana) but generally I slap on a smile and just try not to look too […]
[…] Check the Background and foreground in the Picture with Lady Diana. […]
[…] companions taken at the Taj. Striking poignant poses , sitting on whats come to be known as ‘Lady Di’s chair’ named after Princess Diana ( sitting alone) ! Our guide told us of Shah Jehans plans to build a replica of the Taj adjacent to the current […]
[…] turned her cheek, and of course the iconic photograph of the Princess of Wales sitting alone at the Taj Mahal. The language could not be […]
[…] I toured the Taj Mahal, my friends and I sat on the “Diana bench” for a photo and I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother. She would have been […]
I was born three years after lady Di died but while reading about her I got to know that she was not only beautiful from outside but also beautiful from inside .She did so much for the people ,she had helped so many
people but unfortunately led a tragic death.
[…] forget to have your photograph taken in ‘Diana’s seat’. Everyone does it, and it’s not at all a corny thing to do. I was struck by everyone’s […]
[…] It was simply breath-taking and the structure looked divine with its white marble gleaming against the clear blue sky. Slowly, as if waking up from a slumber, I began the touristy ritual of taking photographs from all angle. Moving ahead I saw people were lined up to get their photos taken on the famous Princess Diana bench. […]
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