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By CNN's Max Foster, Billy Stockwell and Lauren Said-Moorhouse in London

Anwar Hussein

Some of the most unforgettable photos of Princess Diana, such as her “revenge dress” that broke royal protocol and her handshake with an AIDS patient that changed the way the world treated those with the illness, have gone on display in a new exhibition in London.

The exhibition, which is being held at Dockside Vaults just north of London’s Tower Bridge and runs from May 25 to September 2, traces Diana’s life as a humanitarian, a mother and a fashion icon. It displays a carefully curated selection of work by renowned royal photographer Anwar Hussein, 85, who started snapping Diana when she was 19.

“At first, some told me ‘you can’t do pictures of royals,’” Anwar told CNN ahead of the exhibition’s launch. “I said, ‘why not? I want a change.’ I was doing rock and roll pictures - Bob Marley, Elton John, The Beatles. And then I got fed up with show business.” 

Weaving through the vault’s underground network of tunnels, CNN was given a tour of the exhibition by Anwar’s two sons, Samir, 45, and Zak, 43. The pair have followed in their father’s footsteps to become royal photographers in their own right, snapping viral photos of younger generations of the royal family.  

“Diana did really buck the trend, especially for royals. She changed so much, and things that are now seen as normal, such as what Kate or Meghan wear, it was really Diana that changed all of that,” said Samir, standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling print of the famed “revenge dress" photo, taken at a Vanity Fair party on the same day that Charles publicly admitted to adultery. 

Anwar Hussein

“A lot of people didn’t think she was going to come out, and then she just came out looking like a million dollars and made a really big statement that, ‘I’m not going to hide away, I’m still going to be my own person,’” Zak added.

For Anwar, it’s a very different photo that stands out to him. “This was Diana’s favorite,” he said, looking up at a photo of Diana cradling a young cancer patient during a trip to a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1996. 

“The boy was blind. He smelled of all these chemicals they had been using, but she didn’t care and she cuddled him,” Anwar said. “Later on, he died and she was very sad about that. It shows her humanitarian side.” 

Anwar Hussein

Over the years, Anwar and his sons have taken hundreds of thousands of photos of the royal family. There is one word, however, which seems to encapsulate the images on display: legacy. 

“We didn’t want (the exhibition) to be controversial. We wanted it to be a celebration of Diana’s life and her legacy,” he said. “We’ve had ‘The Crown,’ we’ve had films about Diana, so it feels like there is a whole new generation experiencing it.” 

And for Samir and Zak, their father’s influence has also had a profound impact on their lives, something which is illustrated by two almost identical, yet eerily different, photos on display in another part of the exhibition. 

In the first photo, taken in 1992, Diana sits alone in front of the Taj Mahal in India, her red and purple suit, designed by Catherine Walker, is a pop of color against the softer backdrop of the ivory-white marble mausoleum. 

Anwar was told on the day of the Taj Mahal visit that Charles had other engagements, so Diana went without him, Zak says, recalling his father’s recollections. “She ended up posing up in front of it, in front of this monument to love,” he said. “Fairly soon afterwards, they announced their separation.”

Anwar Hussein

Some 24 years later, Zak returned to the same spot to photograph Prince William and his wife, Catherine. “There was a lot of speculation. Would they recreate the picture of Diana there?” Zak said. “They arrived and sat on the bench, but this time it's two people that are very much in love.”

In many ways, the exhibition is a love letter to two families: the Husseins behind the lens, multiple generations of royals in front of it. “(Our father has) never done anything like this before,” Samir said. “He’s getting on now, he’s a bit older and I think he really wanted to do a celebration of what he had done and a celebration of her as a person.” 

In a statement, Anwar said: “I am delighted that the images captured, as well as those of my sons, are coming home to London to recognize and memorialize such a remarkable woman and her sons.” 

Tickets for the exhibition, which start at £17 (about $22), include a 60-minute audio tour detailing the first-hand accounts behind each photograph. 

Kate to miss major military display.

Catherine, Princess of Wales will not be returning to royal duties with an appearance at the Colonel’s Review, a military parade in London in early June, as she continues her treatment for cancer. The ceremonial display on June 8 is the traditional dress rehearsal for the King’s official birthday parade known as Trooping the Colour, which takes place a week later on June 15. It is not yet clear if Kate will also miss the annual military spectacle - a highlight of the royal calendar full of pomp and pageantry - at Horse Guards Parade in the British capital. It had been widely hoped that the popular 42-year-old royal might oversee proceedings at the run-through in her capacity as Colonel of the Irish Guards. The regiment will be trooping its color - presenting its regimental flags - at this year’s ceremony. Read our full story here.

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King Charles gifted Sycamore Gap seedling.

King Charles III has become the first person to be gifted a seedling grown from the 200-year-old Sycamore Gap tree after it was “deliberately felled” in what authorities called an “act of vandalism.” According to the National Trust, the seedling is one of more than 100 successfully propagated by horticultural experts using seeds from the famous tree, which once stood on Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage listed site in Northumberland, northern England. Once the seedling is strong enough, the King is hoping to plant it in Windsor Great Park “for visitors to enjoy as a symbol of the hope and beauty that can come from loss,” according to a press release from the charity.

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Earlier this week, Charles and Camilla were given a tour of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where the British monarch recently became patron following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The royal couple visited the prestigious drama school to mark its 120th anniversary. 

The engagement was the first major public event undertaken by the royal couple since Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a summer general election last week, causing the monarchy to postpone engagements “which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign.”

On arrival, the royal couple were greeted by former RADA students, including “Homeland” actor David Harewood and Cynthia Erivo, who will star alongside Ariana Grande in the much anticipated film adaptation of “Wicked.” During the visit, Charles was told that RADA receives around 4,000 applications for a handful of acting places, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency. To which, the King joked: “Do you put them through the most horrendous auditions?”

As well as touring the art studio, where students are taught about set design, Charles and Camilla were treated to an extract of a play performed by third-year acting students, no doubt reminding Charles of his own passion for theater during his time at Cambridge University. 

A young racehorse called Treasure, bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II before her death in 2022, is competing at one of the biggest racing events in the British annual calendar on Friday. The Betfred Oaks, held at Epsom racecourse in Surrey, England, is one of the five oldest and most important races in Britain, known as the “Classics.” The late Queen, who was a passionate breeder of horses and was said to have an encyclopedic knowledge of racing, previously owned two winners of “the Oaks” contest, winning in 1957 and 1977. This year’s royal contender, who is now owned by King Charles and Camilla, has a 14-1 chance to claim £550,000 ($700,600) in today’s race, according to bookmakers. 

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– King Charles III

The 75-year-old King sent a message following the devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea last Friday that left as many as 2,000 people buried beneath rubble. Charles said he and Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened” to learn of the disaster before sending his “most heartfelt condolences to the families and communities who have suffered so much as a result of this appallingly traumatic event.”