AMHERST, N.H. – A photo marked “not to be published” that shows a teenage Diana Spencer before she became Princess of Wales, with a young friend seated beside her, will be featured in an auction this month in New Hampshire.

The photograph might never have been seen publicly until now, RR Auction said.

Stamped February 1981 on the back, the photo was taken around the time Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer ended months of speculation and announced they were to be married.

The photo came from the Caren Archive, a major private collection of rare newspapers and other publications, and was purchased seven years ago from the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Bobby Livingston, vice president of RR Auction, said Saturday that neither the auction house nor Caren Archive, knew the identity of the young man in the photo.

However, he said he understood that a British newspaper had been able to identify him.

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British media have identified the young man as Adam Russell, the great-grandson of former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.

In 1981, Diana first told news of her engagement to her friends, then moved out of her apartment Feb. 23 and into Buckingham Palace. What was widely labeled the wedding of the century took place on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1996, and Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997.

Another Diana photo to be included in the auction is an original 1988 news photo of the princess observing a marriage conflict resolution seminar.

The auction is scheduled for Jan. 17-24 in Amherst.

Critics pick ‘Amour’ as year’s best 

NEW YORK – The National Society of Film Critics selected “Amour” as the best picture of 2012 during its annual meeting Saturday.

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The critics chose the star of “Amour,” Emmanuelle Riva, as the best actress, and Daniel Day-Lewis was chosen best actor for “Lincoln.”

The group of 60 prominent movie critics from around the country met at Lincoln Center in New York City to make its picks.

Austrian director Michael Haneke won best director for “Amour.” The French-language movie depicts the slow deterioration of the elderly woman played by Riva. It has been praised as an unflinching look at old age and life’s end.

Playwright Tony Kushner won best screenplay for “Lincoln.”

Amy Adams was chosen best supporting actress for “The Master,” and Matthew McConaughey was selected best supporting actor for “Magic Mike” and “Bernie.”

The prize for best nonfiction film went to “The Gatekeepers,” director Dror Moreh’s exploration of intelligence operations by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency.

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Russia takes in French actor fleeing taxes

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says French actor Gerard Depardieu has flown to Sochi, where he is likely to meet with Putin and receive a Russian passport.

Putin on Thursday approved the actor’s application for Russian citizenship, causing a scandal in France, where Depardieu has been fighting a proposed 75 percent income tax on the superrich.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the state RIA Novosti news agency as saying Depardieu arrived Saturday in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and could meet with Putin on Saturday evening.

Peskov said “it cannot be excluded that during the meeting Depardieu could receive a passport.”

— From news service reports

 


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