Princess Diana’s Letters To Friends During Divorce Up For Sale

The letters Princess Diana wrote to her friends during her divorce with the current king, King Charles III, are being auctioned off. The letters, which Lay's Auctioneers described as "highly personal" and "astonishing," will be sold "in individual lots," according to a statement released.

Described as "an astonishing, confidential collection of 32 highly personal letters and cards written by the Princess of Wales to two of her closest friends," Princess Diana's private letters to her friends are being put up for sale. During her divorce from King Charles, Princess Diana wrote these incredibly private letters to Susie and Tarek Kassem.

For those who are unaware, Princess Diana and King Charles (then Prince Charles) separated in December 1992 and divorced in August 1996. Diana passed away in a tragic car accident in Paris a year later, in 1997. The letters will be offered for sale in individual lots at Lay's Auctioneers' upcoming "Antiques and Interiors Sale," which will take place on February 16.

Princess Diana Letters To Friends During

Susie and Tarek have treasured these letters for over 25 years, but they don't want to give their children or grandchildren the burden of ownership over these "poignant documents." As a result, they have chosen to sell the letters, with the intention of using the money raised to support a few causes dear to Susie and Diana, according to the auction house.

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It continued, "Susie and Tarek feel incredibly fortunate that they had the chance to get to know the Princess so closely. The Kassems were constantly in awe of Diana's incredible ability to have such an impact on everyone she came into contact with, whether in the street, theatre, restaurant, or anywhere else."

Diana's friends hope that by holding this auction, they will provide others with the chance to own "a memento" of the Princess and contribute to the causes that were valuable to her. The Kassems have kept some of their more private and confidential letters, which the auction house further disclosed. "However, this collection of more than 30 letters and notecards primarily serves to charmingly and delightfully depict Diana's incredibly warm and loving disposition. While she was under a lot of stress during times of very public heartbreak, her strength of character and her generous and witty nature still shine through in some of the letters."

Diana expressed regret to the Kassems for cancelling their plans to attend the opera together in one of the letters, which The Times obtained. "I am going through a very difficult time, and there is a lot of pressure on me from all directions. In a letter dated April 28, 1996, she admitted that she sometimes found it difficult to maintain her composure. Today I am on my knees and just longing for this divorce to go through as the potential cost is tremendous."

Diana reportedly also wrote about feeling lonely and her concerns about having her phone bugged. She stated in a different letter dated May 20, 1996, "I never would have consented if I had known a year ago what I'd experience going through this divorce. It is desperate and ugly.