The Princess Diana picture mystery - well part of it - is solved. The picture is one of a number published in the Daily Star on pages 1, 2 and 3 in the early 1980s. 
 
 Andrew Morton, then the Star's royal correspondent and, of course, more famously her biographer, has emailed me to explain what happened: 
 
 "I was given the task of trying to identify the boy in the picture. I went to St Thomas's hospital and spoke to James Colthurst who, as I later discovered, was on the ski trip. He gave nothing away. But I later found out that the young man was Adam Russell, the great-grandson of former prime minister Stanley Baldwin, and now a deer farmer in Dorset. Like me, he is a Leeds United supporter which I discovered when I interviewed him for my book, Diana, Her True Story. 
 
 
 
 The picture was taken when they were both injured during the skiing holiday, which was organised by a number of Old Etonians. They kept each other company while the others went skiing and, at the end of the holiday, Adam was somewhat smitten. But absolutely nothing happened. When they got back to London they kept in touch. On one occasion, Adam and James Colthurst hung huge L plates on the front and back of Diana's first car, a Honda Civic. 
 
 
 
 In the summer of 1979, Adam completed his language degree at Oxford and decided to spend a year travelling. He left unspoken the fact that he hoped the friendship between himself and Diana could be renewed and developed upon his return. When he arrived home a year later it was too late. A friend told him, 'You've only got one rival - the Prince of Wales.' If Adam had been a little more forthright about his feelings before he left Oxford, the history of the British monarchy might have been very different." 
 
 So there we are. We now know the man. But the oddity of the picture turning up in the Mirror Group files and being marked "NOT TO BE PUBLISHED" remains an outstanding mystery. 
 
 I think Mike Molloy, quoted in my previous posting, is probably correct in his supposition. ||||| UPDATED January 4, 6:00 pm: 
 
 Princess Diana's 'mystery man' is no longer a mystery! The young man seen lounging with the royal in a candid 1970s photo that went up for auction on Friday was identified by Princess Di biographer Andrew Morton as a onetime Diana suitor who missed his chance. 
 
 "I was given the task of trying to identify the boy in the picture," Morton told The Guardian via email on Friday, after the photo caused a stir. "I later found out that the young man was Adam Russell, the great-grandson of former prime minister Stanley Baldwin, and now a deer farmer on Dorset." 
 
 Morton said the photo was taken on a ski trip during which Russell and Diana became close after they both suffered injuries and were forced to stay off the slopes. 
 
 "They kept each other company while the others went skiing and, at the end of the holiday, Adam was somewhat smitten," Morton told the British newspaper. "But absolutely nothing happened." 
 
 The pair stayed in touch after the trip, according to Morton, who says Russell hoped to start a romantic relationship with Diana but found he'd missed his window after spending a year traveling. 
 
 "When he arrived home a year later it was too late," Morton told The Guardian. "A friend told him, 'You've only got one rival — the Prince of Wales." 
 
 The rest, of course, was history. 
 
 Original story: 
 
 A newly revealed photo of a teenage Princess Diana, snapped right before her engagement and capturing a carefree lifestyle she was days away from losing, is up for sale at a New Hampshire auction house. 
 
 In the picture, an 18 or 19-year-old Diana Spencer lies on a bed, an unidentified young man sitting behind her reading a book he rests on her shoulder. A bottle of whiskey sits on the window ledge behind them. It is assumed the photo was taken during a Swiss skiing holiday. 
 
 How a picture of the most photographed woman of her lifetime slipped by the public’s notice is a mystery, as is why the words “not to be published” were scrawled across the photo. 
 
 Slideshow: Princess Diana's life 
 
 The picture was sold to a British newspaper on Feb. 26, 1981, which matches the date written on the back of the photograph. Two days before, Diana’s engagement to Prince Charles was announced by Buckingham Palace. 
 
 “It shows a rather young carefree girl, a bit gauche if you like, so I think that's what makes it all the more endearing because we catch Diana in a rare private moment,” royal watcher Neil Sean told TODAY. “Somebody who has possibly known a normal life and it’s all about to change, before she became a worldwide icon.” 
 
 The picture, whose photographer is unknown, is expected to draw at least $750, and possibly a lot more. It will go up for sale at RR Auction house in Amherst, N.H., from Jan. 17 to 24. 
 
 Slideshow: The wedding of Charles and Diana The fairy-tale wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was watched by millions of people around the globe. Take a look back at their big day. Launch slideshow 
 
 More: Diana friend: 'History repeating itself' with Kate 
 
 Video: Now a seasoned royal, Kate prepares for motherhood 
 
 Duchess Kate's 10 best style moments of 2012 
 
 Deja Vu Diana? Duchess Kate channels the princess 
 
 A royal frizz-fixer? Meet traveling Team Kate 
 
 Prince Charles 'impatient' comment seen as a metaphor on life 
 
 
 
 ||||| A never-before-seen photo of a young Princess Diana lounging with a mystery man -- cryptically marked NOT TO BE PUBLISHED -- is expected to fetch a hefty sum at an upcoming auction. 
 
 The extremely rare picture was discovered among the Daily Mirror's photo archive. It's inscribed with the date 26 February 1981 (believed to be the day it was bought) on the back. Notice anything interesting? That's two days after Diana and Prince Charles's engagement was officially announced by Buckingham Palace. 
 
 According to the Daily Mail, the photo was likely taken on a Swiss ski vacation around 1979 or 1980, when the young future princess would have been 18 or 19. The young man, they speculate, may be Diana's former boyfriend Rory Scott, or close friend James Colthurst. On the ledge next to the couple is a bottle of Johnnie Walker whiskey, and the words "NOT TO BE PUBLISHED" are scrawled across it. 
 
 Eric Caren, who bought the Mirror's photo library seven years ago and is the pic's owner, told The Daily Mail: "It's an intimate photo - I don't know the man in the picture and he could be a friend or a boyfriend. 
 
 The photo is presumed to be worth around $1000, but experts tell the AFP it's expected to sell for much more. 
 
 UPDATE: The identity of the mystery man was confirmed to be Adam Russell, an Old Etonian and the great-grandson of former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. According to Andrew Morton, the royal biographer, “They kept each other company while the others went skiing and at the end of the holiday Adam was somewhat smitten but absolutely nothing happened." Very interesting. 
 
 Learn more secrets from Diana's early life... 
 
 PHOTO GALLERY BEFORE YOU GO The Most Memorable Quotes From Princess Diana's 1995 BBC Interview PHOTO GALLERY The Most Memorable Quotes From Princess Diana's 1995 BBC Interview 
 
 Princess Diana Rare Photo With Mystery Man To Be Auctioned Off (VIDEO, UPDATED) The Most Memorable Quotes From Princess Diana's 1995 BBC Interview The Most Memorable Quotes From Princess Diana's 1995 BBC Interview 1 / 61 "I think when I came into marriage -- especially when you've had divorced parents like myself... You'd want to try even harder to make it work and you don't want to fall back into a pattern that you've seen happen in your own family. I desperately want it to work; I desperately love my husband and I wanted to share everything together. And I thought that we were a very good team." Getty photo 
 
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– An interesting photo of a teenaged Diana Spencer, taken years before she became a princess, goes up for auction later this month, reports the Huffington Post. It shows Diana, probably around age 18, relaxing in a ski chalet with a friend named Adam Russell, reports NBC News with help from the Guardian. A bottle of whiskey sits on a nearby windowsill. They weren't a couple, though Diana biographer Andrew Morton says Russell was "smitten" with her. The photo has "Not to Be Published" written across it, and it's expected to fetch at least $1,000 at New Hampshire's RR Auction house when a week of bidding ends on Jan. 24.