( CNN ) -- An intimate black-and-white photograph of Princess Diana as a teenager is to go under the hammer in Amherst , New Hampshire , later this month , an auction company said Friday , . The photograph -- which may never before have been seen by the public , RR Auction says -- offers a glimpse of the future wife of Prince Charles lying down , perhaps on a bed , wearing a light sweater or top . Only her head and arms can be seen . Behind her a young man leans against the wall , reading , his book resting on her shoulder . The future princess looks relaxed , half smiling at the camera . A bottle of whiskey can be seen on the windowsill . Another man is half seen in the foreground , but there is no clue as to who he or Diana 's other companion might be . Large , black wording across the top of the photograph states `` Not to be published , '' and there are two dark lines under the words and above Diana 's head . A lighter circle encompasses the words , Diana and the man reading the book . The only indication of date is a stamp on the back of the print saying 26 February 1981 -- two days after the engagement of Diana , then 19 , and Prince Charles was announced by Buckingham Palace . They married in July of that year . The photograph likely was taken a year or two earlier . Bidding for the image , described by RR Auction as an `` uncommon early 10 x 8 glossy news photo of a young Diana lying in bed , '' opens on January 17 and starts at $ 200 . British media reports suggest it may have come from the photo archive of the Mirror or Sunday Mirror newspaper . Diana , Princess of Wales , was fatally injured in a car accident in Paris in 1997 , a year after she and Prince Charles divorced . Their sons , Princes William and Harry , are second and third in line to the throne respectively . CNN 's Joseph Netto reported in Atlanta and Laura Smith-Spark in London .
The photograph shows her , relaxed , lying next to a young man . He reads next to her , with his book on her shoulder , a bottle of wine nearby . It is dated with a date two days after her engagement to Prince Charles was announced . The image may have come from a newspaper archive .