From Bardot and Belfast riots to waterskiing stars Prince Charles... and Sammy the dog: Amazing archive of 'London's first paparazzo'

• Ray Bellisario's body of work spanned the 1950s to 70s
• Now aged 77, he has decided to sell his huge collection of around 20,000 transparencies

By Nick Enoch

Published: 06:55 EDT, 23 October 2013 | Updated: 20:38 EDT, 23 October 2013

When Hugh Hefner and his bevy of bunny girls arrived at Heathrow in 1966, he was ready with his trusty camera.

He was there too when Christine Keeler - just released from prison after the Profumo scandal - lay seductively in a meadow; and again when a young Prince Charles indulged in a spot of waterskiing while sitting on a chair.

Now, the archive of Ray Bellisario, who was dubbed London's first paparazzo, has gone up for auction.

It is a remarkable body of work, spanning the 1950s to 70s, and captures subjects ranging from the Royals to the Belfast riots, as well as celebrities including Brigitte Bardot... and Sammy the waterskiing dog.

Celebrity photographer Ray Bellisario took this image of Christine Keeler soon after her release from prison in 1964 following the Profumo scandal which brought down the Macmillan government

Hugh Hefner and his bunny girls at Heathrow airport in June 1966. Bellisario's catalogue has now gone up for sale at auction

Brigitte Bardot is seen here arriving at Heathrow to shoot a film in the UK in 1968. Right, a riot in Belfast in 1970 during 'The Troubles', which saw conflict between republican and loyalist paramilitaries

Prince Charles waterskis at Sunninghill Park, Windsor in 1970. Although many of Bellisario's images feature the Royals, he was loathed by them for his candid shots

While many of the 20,000 transparencies on sale are of the House of Windsor, the photographer was so loathed by them that Prince Philip suggested sending him to the Tower.

'That bloody Bellisario!’, as Princess Margaret used to call him, was a constant presence at royal events, taking candid shots of the Queen and her family.

Some of the 'Royal collection' were featured in Bellisario's 1972 book To Tread On Royal Toes and also in international media, yet there are many which are previously unseen.

The sale of the catalogue, including its copyright, has been organised by Omega Auctions of Cheshire.

Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said: 'This is a remarkable collection and we expect there will be significant interest not only in the UK but worldwide. It is such a unique collection with nothing ever having come up for sale previously to compare it to.

‘We expect the collection to achieve somewhere in the region of between £500,000 and £1million.’

Ray Bellisario was born in 1936 to Italian immigrant parents, the youngest of a family of 11.

Sammy the waterskiing dog in Torquay in 1967. Bellisario's collection spans the 1950s to 70s

The Queen helps Princess Margaret to get ready for a waterskiing session in 1964

Princess Anne takes a tumble from Purple Star at the Army Horse Trials in Tidworth, Wiltshire in 1970

Dr Anne Biezanek, the first Catholic woman to open a birth control clinic, in 1965, photographed by 'London's first paparazzo'

His parents eked out a living selling ice cream from a hand-cart along the cobbled streets of the Yorkshire mining town of Pontefract.

From these humble beginnings emerged the man who later became internationally known as the 'Hammer of The House of Windsor'.

It was the year the young Queen was crowned - 1954 - that the 18-year-old novice photographer took a picture of her sheltering under an umbrella that was published by several newspapers.

Bellisario realised he was onto something and decided to concentrate his efforts on the Royal Family, but seek something different from the rest of the press pack.

‘It was a business decision, nothing more, nothing less,’ he told the Daily Mail from his home in Spain.

‘I used a mixture of commonsense and contacts. Of course I got tip-offs, but I also thought about things very laterally.’

Now aged 77, Bellisario has donated his entire archives to the charity he has founded called Reach For Rights and all of his proceeds for the sale of the collection will go to the charity.

Prince Charles is seen here learning to drive in his Rover, at Windsor in April 1967

The set includes spectators waiting to watch Donald Campbell attempt a waterspeed record. Right, Ray Bellisario (seen above right in 1971) was born in 1936 to Italian immigrant parents, the youngest of a family of 11

Princess Margaret indulges in some water sport in July 1964

The Queen dances the Twist on a picnic in the grounds of Balmoral in 1962

Princes Charles and Philip watch events at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1965

Some of his photographs, such as the one of Prince Charles sitting on a chair while waterskiing on the lake at Sunninghill Park, Windsor, show a fun side to the royals, rarely seen in public.

Bellisario was standing on a footpath by the lake when he was approached by Princess Margaret’s then husband, Lord Snowdon, who told him: ‘If you hang on we’ll do something that will really make your pictures. Keep an eye out for the chair!’

Soon, Prince Charles came whizzing past, sitting on an old chair which had been balanced on an upturned table, with grinning Snowdon at the wheel of the speedboat.

The Queen and the Queen Mother at the Epsom Derby in May 1961

Prince Philip playing bicycle polo on Smiths Lawn in Windsor Park in April 1967

Prince Charles goes fishing on the River Stock at Laxford Bridge in Sunderland in August 1963

Eventually, however, Bellisario tired of his fights with the royals and went abroad, earning plaudits for his work covering conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Western Sahara and the Nigerian Civil War.

His work inspired him to set up Reach For Rights. The auction will fund its work providing a free legal service for those without the means to seek help, including the disabled and victims of domestic violence.

He says: ‘I am sad to be relinquishing my collection, much of which has not been seen in public before, but it is in aid of cause about which I am passionate and will, I hope, live long after I am gone.

‘For the past 40 years it has been secretly moved from place to place and whoever buys it will be securing a piece of history.'

Prince Charles waterskis at Sunninghill Park in 1970. Bellisario said: 'I used a mixture of commonsense and contacts. Of course I got tip-offs, but I also thought about things very laterally'

Now aged 77, Bellisario has donated his entire archives to the charity he has founded called Reach For Rights and all of his proceeds for the sale of the collection will go to the charity

Then and now: Photographer Ray Bellisario is pictured in January 1963 (left) and three months ago (right). Bellisario used to infuriate Prince Philip