William and Kate walk in Diana's footsteps: Royal couple arrive at the Taj Mahal and pose on the same bench where his mother sat during her iconic visit to the Indian monument 24 years ago

Prince William banished the ghosts of the past as he sat down with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the same marble bench as his late mother, Princess Diana, at the Taj Mahal. 

The image, 24 years ago, of Diana looking forlorn (inset) and alone outside the glorious symbol of eternal love as her marriage to Prince Charles crumbled, became one of the iconic images of their failed relationship. 

But today William guided Kate and sat down in a bid, he said, to 'create some memories of our own'. When Princess Diana sat in the same spot three days before Valentine's Day in 1992, she cut a forlorn figure outside the so-called 'monument of love', the spectacular marble mausoleum becoming a symbol of her loneliness. Dressed in a purple and red outfit, a then 30-year-old Diana told reporters she found the experience 'very healing'. When pressed to explain herself, the princess replied: 'Work it out for yourself.' Nine months later she and Prince Charles announced their separation.

 It could not be in starker contrast to today's tender display of affection between a couple still clearly in love as they prepare to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary on the 29th of this month. Kate, 34, looked effortlessly cool in a pretty white and blue dress by Indian designer Naeem Khan, while William was smart casual in chinos, a jacket and an open-necked shirt.