Mario Testino does Princess Diana — The Last Session

In March of 1997, just five months before her untimely death on August 31, 1997 at age 36

under circumstances that remain mysterious to this day,

über–photographer Mario Testino was invited by Princess Diana to

Kensington Palace for a photo shoot some of whose results

later appeared in Vanity Fair magazine.

Many others remained unpublished until now,

when they make their first public appearance in this 136–page book.

The look and feel of these photos have an uncanny resemblance to those taken by Bert Stern of Marilyn Monroe and published after her death as "Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting."

In that book, made up of over 2,500 shots taken over the course of a three–day sitting six weeks before the actress's death on August 5, 1962 at age 36 under circumstances that remain mysterious to this day, Monroe seems to recapitulate and relive all the roles and selves she portrayed and embodied over the years.

That book, however, is no longer in print and has become a collectible, with one copy currently available at Amazon "still in shrinkwrap" for $275 and others ranging up to $2,000.

Diana by Testino — $39.99.