Coverage of the royal wedding marks a new relationship between Prince William and the media, one in which he has overcome the hatred ingrained in his teenage years. British royal correspondents and photographers who have spent hours studying Prince William at close quarters say there has been a gradual change in his approach and a clear break from his parents’ difficult relations with the newspapers.

His mother Diana, princess of Wales’ death in 1997 in a frenzied paparazzi chase through Paris started Prince William’s attitude to the media on the worst possible footing. Now 28, and able to put his own stamp on things, the storm that engulfed Princess Diana and the naked hostility of his father Prince Charles has been replaced with a balanced arrangement with which their eldest son seems comfortable.

Earlier this week Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton made their fourth and final joint public engagement before the wedding, visiting two towns in Lancashire, northwest England.

Ian Jones, who toured the world with Princess Diana and was named royal photographer of the decade in 1998, said Prince William was “very professional” to work with for the Eton shots and though shy, was at ease in front of the camera.

“As he’s grown and matured, he has become a lot more comfortable with himself, more confident and outgoing but also a lot more philosophical about his role and position and what that entails,” the freelancer re-marked. Mr Jones said media coverage of this royal story was taking place in a much more sensible atmosphere, driven by rational working relations between the palace and the press rather than tip-offs to favoured news organisations.

He said both the media and the palace had learnt the lessons from the Diana years and forged “a much more beneficial, professional working relationship”.