+6
Private letters from Princess Diana reveal she wouldn’t have agreed to separate if she knew it was going to be so ‘desperate and ugly.’ The series of honest letters and cards that talk about her regret around her divorce from Prince Charles and throw jabs at the Royal family are set to fetch £90,000 ($111,049) at auction. The Princess of Wales wrote about topics such as being isolated and about fears her phone was being bugged. There are 32 letters and cards up for sale, written from late 1995 and throughout 1996 to her friends Susie and Tarek Kassem.
+6
The couple are selling the letters because ‘owning the documents is a great responsibility’ that they did not wish to pass on to their children. The Kassems have kept some of their more personal and confidential letters. The letters will be sold individually and the proceeds will be donated to charities Diana supported. In one revealing letter from April 28, 1996 (pictured), Diana cancelled a trip to the opera due to the strain of her separation. She wrote: ‘I am having a very difficult time and pressure is serious and coming from all sides. It’s too difficult sometimes to keep one’s head up and today I am on my knees and just longing for this divorce to go through as the possible cost is tremendous.’
+6
Her handwriting, normally open and flowing, deteriorates towards the end of the letter, apparently from where she was struggling as she wrote. On May 20, 1996, she told Mrs Kassem the phones at Kensington Palace were bugged. She wrote: ‘If I’d known a year ago what I’d experience going through this divorce I never would have consented. It’s desperate and ugly.’ In many of them she gushingly thanks the couple – whom she met for the first time in August 1995 during her regular visits to the Royal Brompton Hospital – for showering her with gifts and emotional support. On December 2, 1995 – the day after the Queen advised Charles and Diana to divorce, she wrote: ‘I may have been described as a butterfly but I don’t want to fly away from this lovely family.’ She was referring to the Kassem family. She repeatedly thanked them for being there for her and for ‘listening to all my chat.’ She wrote ‘nice to be a threesome!’.
+6
In another swipe at the Royal Family she wrote: ‘I’m immensely touched by how protective you both are of me… I’m not used to that!’ The Kassems, who live in London, are selling the letters at Lay’s auctioneers in Penzance, Cornwall on February 16. On its website, Lay’s said: ‘Susie and Tarek Kassem, as very close friends of Diana, Princess of Wales, have treasured these letters for over 25 years. ‘They reflect the special and loving relationship they had. The ownership of these poignant documents is a responsibility that the Kassems do not wish to pass on to their children or grandchildren. They have decided to sell the letters and use proceeds of the sale to support some of the charities that were close to Susie and Diana’s hearts. Susie and Tarek feel extremely privileged that they had the opportunity to get to know the Princess so closely. Throughout their friendship the Kassems were always amazed at the incredible effect Diana had on anyone who came into contact with her. Pictured: Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their last official trip together – a visit to South Korea in 1992.
+6
‘Her electrifying presence transcends time. People’s fascination with Princess Diana has hardly waned since her tragic death. At Lay’s we have seen how thrilled people are by the opportunity to own something of hers – they liken it to owning the treasured relic of a saint. ‘With this in mind, the Kassems would like to give other people the opportunity of acquiring a memento of the Princess, and in doing so, support causes that were important to her. Some letters do touch on the enormous stress she was experiencing during periods of very public heartbreak, yet her strength of character and her generous and witty disposition shine through. It is an extraordinarily poignant collection of correspondence, written by one of the most important and influential women of the 20th century, and documents one of her most valued and significant friendships during the last 2 years of her life.’