Princess Diana’s letters to her closest friends, post ‘desperate, ugly’ divorce sold for Rs 1 Cr

 

The letters Princess Diana wrote to two of her closest friends, during her divorce with King Charles (then Prince Charles), have sold for 1,41,150 pounds (Rs 1 crore) at an auction, as per a report in Independent. The ‘confidential collection of 32 highly personal letters and cards’ written to Susie and Tarek Kassem was auctioned by Lay’s Auctioneers.

As per reports, close friends of the Princess of Wales, Susie and Tarek Kassem treasured these letters for more than 25 years. They did not want to entrust their children or grandchildren with the ownership of these important documents so they made the decision to sell the letters and donate the money raised to a few causes that Princess Diana and Susie cared about. The auction house said in a statement, ‘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’.

 

In one of the letters dated February 17, 1996, the Princess 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’. She explained that she was being closely watched and the only way to interact with her friends was through writing letters. ‘It is difficult to discuss personal issues as my lines here are constantly recorded and passed on’, she added.

In another letter dated 28 April 1996, Princess Diana apologised for cancelling the opera session with the Kassems, citing her grief over her divorce. ‘It’s too difficult sometimes to keep ones head up and today I’m on my knees and just longing for this divorce to go through as the possible cost is tremendous’, she said.

She also notified Susie in a letter dated December 17, 1996 that she would be travelling on December 24 as she was not a ‘lover of Christmas’. ‘I shall top myself if I remain here. I hope 1997 will be an easier year for us all’, she added. However, the Princess of Wales died on August 31, 1997 in a tragic car accident in Paris.