Just days after Princess Diana's former lover announced his plans to sell their intimate correspondence, it has emerged that the late royal's family is looking into taking legal action over the issue.
The Daily Mail reports that the Spencers' legal team is looking over the transcripts of James Hewitt's January 8 interview on Larry King Live, in which he revealed his intent to sell the notes. The copyright on the contents of the 64 letters, dated between 1989 and 1991, is held by the Princess' estate, and her family does not want the correspondence to be published.
The former Army officer, who is on the verge of bankrupcy, once said he would "never dream" of selling the letters. He apparently made a deal with the family's lawyers that the letters would be stored, would not be sold and would be destroyed at the time of his death.
"It is a point of principle," a family friend told the Mail. "Hewitt made agreements and they don't see why he should be allowed to ignore them because he might get a million-dollar payout." In the interview, the ex-tank commancer appeared to be suggesting a price of £10 million would be acceptable.
Fighting the sale of the letters on copyright grounds would be a challenge – legal experts say there would be no copyright infringement if the letters were bought by a private collector or museum and simply displayed.
A sale to preserve the letters as "historical documents" is Hewitt's aim, according to his TV interview. Saying he "wouldn't suggest" any potential buyers should reproduce the documents, he added: "There would be certain stipulations. I mean, ideally I think (the sale) would be to a private collector or a museum."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
