The Last Photos Of A Princess

Royal photographer Jayne Fincher took many of the best pictures of Princess Diana. Her new book, Diana: Portrait of a Princess, contains pictures of the late royal that have never been published before, reports CBS 'This Morning' Co-Anchor Jane Robelot.

Fincher traveled the globe with the princess, and through her lens, recorded Diana's transformation from a shy teen-ager to one of the most admired women in the world.

"She was a complex woman," Fincher says. "She wasn't a saint, but she was very human. She had her faults like every human person does."

Fincher says that, over the years of photographing Diana, she was able to see a person who was very compassionate, humorous, but also prone to great sadness.

"You wanted to put your arms around her and say, 'Don't worry, it's alright'," Fincher says.

However, Fincher was never sure what the boundary was between a commoner and a princess. Despite their longtime acquaintance, she felt any expression of her sympathy would have been improper.

"At the time you're not sure, you know. After all, she was a princess," Fincher says.

Fincher now regrets not reaching out then.

"The last time I photographed her, she looked down and depressed," Fincher recalls. "I went home feeling depressed. The minute she was killed, I thought, 'I wish I had done something that day'."

The royal photographer was privy to Diana's home life. She took pictures of the princess with her sons and with Prince Charles for family Christmas cards, as well as for more casual occasions.

Jayne Fincher

"It didn't matter if you were the president of the United States or a leper in a leper colony in Africa," Fincher says. "She wasn't standing there saying, 'I'm the great princess,' whether it was Mrs. Reagan or whoever. She would put them at ease, and people loved her for that."

The photographer saw the signs of despair as the marriage between Diana and Prince Charles fell apart, but she tried to ignore it.

"I didn't want the fairy tale to crumble. I wanted it to be happy ever after," she says.

Now, she admits, the problems were obvious. However, the one thing that kept Diana happy were her two sons. She photographed Diana with the young princes William and Harry one day.

"The laughter in the house that day is something I'll always remember," Fincher says. "When she was with the boys, her face lit up. The laughter would come out."

She said that Diana was protective of her sons, and proud.

"She would say, 'My handsome boys. I an't believe how handsome they are'," Fincher remembers.

Despite the grief of their loss, Fincher believes the boys will be fine, and that their mother would marvel at their progress.

"If she were here today, she would be proud to see them."