Princess Diana did things her own way.

That individuality and assertiveness extended to how she presented herself, and her previously unseen photographs, now on display at Kensington Palace, are a fine example of this.

The photograph, taken by David Bailey in 1988, was a clear departure from the kind of portraits he was taking of the royal family at the time, and from the image of herself that the princess had previously put forth, according to the "Life Through a Royal Lens" exhibition Claudia Acott Williams, who curated the exhibition, explains.

"It was taken as part of a sitting commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery," Williams tells Marie Claire. 'Because when I was researching this picture, a lot of photographers were suggested to her. Someone like Norman Parkinson was a much more famous photographer, someone who would be expected to take pictures of members of the royal family. But it was actually the Princess of Wales who wanted to be photographed by David Bailey, a truly surprising choice at the time."

Anyone interested in photography is familiar with Bailey's work: during his illustrious career, he photographed Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, Kate Moss, Michael Caine, the two Beatles, Lewis Hamilton, Christy Turlington, Prince Harry, Cara Delevingne have been photographed. So what was so controversial about choosing Bailey?

"Obviously the queen sat for him later, but at this point he was a rather irreverent, edgy, counterculture type figure, which was unusual or unexpected for a formal royal portrait," says Williams.

"I think it really represents [Princess Diana's] spirit and her desire to show herself differently, to establish herself differently."

This photo shows Princess Diana in profile without a smile (which can be seen here)

in black and white. What is interesting about this photo is that the National Portrait Gallery (chose) a series of photos of her when she was sitting. [They] make [her] smile, warm, looking at the camera, which is typical of her approach to image making up until the 80s. It's very regal, very stoic, and it references a very traditional style of royal portraiture, the profile portraits that have historically been used on stamps, coins, etc.

"That in itself makes for a very remarkable photograph for her personally. Personally, I think this entire photograph is the strongest of all."

"The photograph is a very strong reference to the work of the artist.

While Princess Diana embodied youthfulness, cheerfulness, and friendliness in the eyes of the public, we also know that she had a certain seriousness about her and suffered a lot.

"Up to this point, she had spent much of her time cultivating a more approachable image of herself. [Ironically, that actually meant doing something more traditionally royal. [25] [26] "What I like about it is the idea that David Bailey is considered very counterculture and irreverent, but what he has created here is actually a really, really stunning royal portrait. [For me, it's fascinating that someone who was styling himself in a very warm and friendly way is using David Bailey to fashion a really traditional royal image."

Well, she was always ahead of her time.