Princess Diana's Personal Letters From the Last Two Years of Her Life Sold at Charity Auction
Update, 2/17/23: Princess Diana's 32 letters sold for about $175,000 at an auction in Cornwall.
Original, 2/2/23: Letters that Princess Diana sent during the last two years of her life will be up for auction this month.
"Susie & 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 with the most unique women that they had ever known," Lay's Auctioneers said in a statement. "Now, in 2023, 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."
The Kassems, whom Diana met during one of her visits to the Royal Brompton Hospital, decided to auction the letters "to give other people the opportunity of acquiring 'a memento' of the Princess, and in doing so, support causes that were important to her."
"The Kassems have kept some of their more personal and confidential letters, but largely this collection of over 30 letters and notecards illustrate Diana's immensely warm and loving disposition in a charming and delightful manner," Lay's continued. "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."
The letters are candid about Diana's divorce from King Charles. "If I'd known a year ago what I'd experience going through this divorce I never would have consented," she wrote in one. "It's desperate and ugly." In another, she wrote, "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."
The collection, called, "Diana, The Private Correspondence of a Princess," 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," the auction house wrote. It's not clear yet what charities the auction proceeds will go to.
The auction will take place on February 16, 2023.
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