Private letters the late Princess Diana sent to a friend over a number of years are to be sold at auction in September, and may fetch upwards of £1,800 each. The hand-written notes were exchanged with interior decorator John Munro, with whom Diana enjoyed an enduring friendship, and the cards give an intimate glimpse into the life of England’s rose.
In one letter from 1981, Diana discusses her recently announced engagement to Prince Charles. “Life is very exhausting being engaged,” she wrote. “I was always warned about this and now it couldn’t be more true!”
Diana and John met in 1979 when he decorated the Edwardian flat she and three close friends shared in London’s Earls Court.
The letters, always addressed to Mr Munro, include a thank-you note for a shawl he sent to mark the birth of Prince William. One of John’s clients had knitted the shawl which is believed to be the one the newborn Prince was wrapped in as he left the hospital. “Our baby will look very smart surrounded by all the wondeful work that has gone into it,” Diana wrote.
The two confidantes often exchanged Christmas cards and the collection includes a 1986 holiday photo of Diana and the family dog Tigger. “I do hope you like our Christmas card that we have organised this year – we have only one addition and that is Tigger whom William and Harry love to bits!”
The collection will go under the hammer at Bonhams & Brooks on September 13. John Munro died aged 83 in 1992 and bequeathed the letters to his family.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
