In Pursuit of the Royal Treatment

By DAVID VAN BIEMA

Thomas Patrick John Anson--officially, Lord Lichfield--came to one photographic specialty by birth and the other by disposition. As Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, he had access to royalty, famously using a referee's whistle to organize group shots at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Di. And as a world-class bon vivant, he became a host and chronicler of swinging London: when he lensed one of Mick Jagger's nuptials, he doubled as best man. Of the '60s, he once said, "We did behave quite badly." And he never claimed great artistry. But he made full use of both his impeccable connections and his sense of fun to chronicle a naughtier--and yet somehow more innocent--time.