A previously unseen press photo of a young Princess Diana, that a London tabloid deemed too hot to publish, will be up for auction in the United States later this month.
The black-and-white image from the dawn of the 1980s shows Diana smiling at the camera as she lies comfortably in the lap of an unidentified young man reading a book.
On the back, the photo is dated February 26, 1981 -- two days after Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince Charles and the commoner then known as Diana Spencer.
The auction house RR Auctions, based in New Hampshire, said the photo comes from a private archive, which acquired it seven years ago when it bought out the photo library of Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper.
Internet bidding on the photo and others -- including a rare autographed portrait of Albert Einstein by a New York society photographer -- will run from January 17 through 24.