As the British royal family celebrates its newest arrival, we can't help but feel the poignant absence of little Prince George's grandmother, Princess Diana.
Thankfully, we have Vanity Fair to deliver a dose of Princess Di just when we need it most. Diana is Vanity Fair's September cover star, posing in a photo taken by Mario Testino in 1997 in what was her last major portrait session before her death.
Vanity Fair is known for putting long-gone icons on its covers -- indeed, it placed Diana on the cover in October 1997 just months after her death, and Audrey Hpeburn is one of its favorite cover girls. But this particular cover couldn't have arrived at a better time. While the cover story focuses not on Diana's children but rather on her love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, the zoomed-in shot of that smile and those sparkling blue eyes can't help but remind us of Prince William and the genes that lil' Georgie will no doubt inherit as well.
Di may be gone, but she's never too far from our minds. Check out Vanity Fair's new Princess Diana cover below and read an excerpt of the story at VanityFair.com.
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The people's princess:
