The day Princess Diana left her mark on Cornwall - in rare pictures

Princess Diana was adored by the world because of her kind, down-to-earth nature, generosity, style, grace and compassion. She is arguably one of the most loved members of the Royal Family to this day despite her tragic death at just 36.

Through the years in her capacity of Duchess of Cornwall and The Princess of Wales, Diana accompanied then Prince Charles, now King Charles III, on numerous visits to Cornwall. She made quite the mark on the county having brought smiles to countless people's faces - even breaking protocol to greet them.

In 1983, one of Diana's finest visits to Cornwall was a trip to St Columb Major. Her visit started celebrations for the 650th anniversary of the granting of St Columb’s Market Town Charter where she was met with a fantastic public reaction.

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During this visit a surprise kiss on the cheek from a person in the crowd made the princess give him a little telling off though. The Cornish Guardian reported at the time how she said: “You shouldn’t do that, you’re supposed to shake my hand.”

As the couple walked around a packed recreation ground, Andrew Belcher, a clerk with the health authority in Truro, seized his chance and ducked under the rope meant to keep the crowd back, squeezed the hand of the Princess and gave her a smacker on the cheek.

Crowds had waited three hours for the arrival of the Princess and the kiss happened so quickly that no photographer caught it, but from that first moment the Cornish crowds took her to their hearts. You can see fourteen photos photographers did capture during this visit below.

This article was first published in 2023