When Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his then-bride Sarah Ferguson conducted their royal tour of Australia in 1988, they were among the most famous royal figures in the world as the Duke and Duchess of York.
The couple spent one day of that tour cruising the Brisbane river on billionaire Christopher Skase’s hovercrafts and for almost 40 years since, photographer Craig Holmes has held on to a secret roll of film from that surreal day – an “unbelievable” encounter with the royals he’s only shared with a handful of people.
“The job came my way because I used to do a lot of work for high rollers in Brisbane at the time, and I was Christopher’s photographer in Queensland,” Craig, 69, tells Woman’s Day. “I always got paid, by the way!”
NO ORDINARY JOB
A social documentary photographer not accustomed to capturing footage of British royals, Craig rocked up to the job in a black T-shirt, black Levi’s and sneakers, and was swiftly whisked to a suit shop to dress up for royal company. Once at the location, Craig was taken aback by the entourage that surrounded Andrew and Fergie.
“There were a lot of staff on board, and high-ranking naval officers accompanying the royal couple,” he recalls. “There were 12 to 15 federal police, huge guys, and they were all around me, all the time.”
Having been hired by businessman Christopher to “document the day”, Craig was astounded to get so much pushback from the royal couple’s team when he tried to snap the events of the day.
“It was high security, do not speak unless spoken to, do not shoot the royal couple,” he says. “I was told not to use my cameras unless asked to, which is very difficult for someone like myself – I love catching a moment with people.”
Things amped up on the security – and drama – front when both the boats broke down at the same time, and there was talk later on about suspected arson on board the vessels carrying Andrew and Fergie.
“I think there was [panic] because I was told definitely no more photos,” he says. “When I disembarked I disregarded those orders and started to shoot. I found myself in my own space again, not being so heavily controlled by police and bodyguards.”
THE MOMENT ANDREW LOST IT
Over the years there have been countless stories about Andrew’s fierce temper and, at that point in the day, Craig certainly got a glimpse of his dark side. When the prince spotted the photographer continuing to snap away on his camera, “he flew at me in a rage”.
“He was pretty upset because he didn’t want to get caught in an embarrassing situation, I can understand that,” Craig says. “Tensions were high – they thought the boats were going to blow up any minute, they thought it was some sort of major sabotage. He got pretty worked up. A federal policeman stepped between us and said, “It’s OK, Boss, he’s one of us’.”
Once the panic died down, Andrew had another encounter with Craig, and this time he was more understanding of the photographer’s dilemma.
“I said, ‘I’m here for the guy who owns the boats, he’s asked me to shoot a record of the day, I won’t be fulfilling my part if I get back and I don’t have anything to show for it,’” Craig recalls.
“So I did a bit of a barter with him and he said, ‘Oh sure, go on, shoot whatever you want.’ He did that with his left hand in the air, like shooing a fly away!”
At the end of the day, Craig smuggled his roll of film out in his shoe and kept the proofs to himself to honour the couple’s privacy. However, watching Andrew’s downfall over the years has prompted the Noosa-based photographer to reflect on his time with the royals way back when.
“I met them at a time when the world was their oyster, and it’s disappointing to read everything now,” he says. “It was so good to meet them in their prime.”
‘STRUGGLING’ FERGIE’S KIND GESTURE
At the time of the Australian tour, Fergie was at a vulnerable stage in her life, suffering postnatal depression and fielding harsh scrutiny back home in the UK for leaving seven-week-old Beatrice with the nanny.
Even so, Craig recalls the duchess’ friendly nature at the end of their day out together.
“Fergie came up to me herself after I’d taken the photographs and we had a conversation and she said, ‘Would you send me those five or six photos?’ the photographer says. “I asked her if she’d sign one and send it back and she did. We had it framed!”
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