The photographer Anwar Hussein, who has died aged 85, was integral to transforming the public image of the British royal family: from the aloof and unknowable to something more human. His photographs will also forever be synonymous with the brief life of Diana, Princess of Wales, but his work was much more than that.
Hussein hailed from what is now Tanzania, but his career began in earnest in the UK in the late 1960s, and his talent led to commissions for portraits of the pop and rock gods of the 70s: Marc Bolan, Elton John, David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury. Soon Hussein realised he needed a fresh challenge. He wanted to record something more historic, more lasting, and he set his sights on the most exclusive family in the world: the House of Windsor.
