Princess Diana Letter Reveals Hope for William and Harry
A newly disclosed letter written by Diana, Princess of Wales, has revealed she wanted Prince William and Prince Harry to learn the importance of communicating on a “deeper” level. The two-page note, written in the aftermath of her BBC Panorama interview, is now due to be sold at auction, offering a fresh glimpse into Diana’s private reflections as she looked to the future with her sons.
The Mirror reported that Diana wrote the letter in November 1995 to a supporter named Mr Michael Barratt, thanking him for a message he sent after watching the Panorama programme and saying she was looking forward to “sharing with and teaching William and Harry the importance of communication on a deeper level.”
The report said the letter was penned about a week after the interview, and that Diana told Mr Barratt she had been touched by the “profound words” in his correspondence. The note closes with the sign-off: “With my best wishes, Yours sincerely, Diana.”
The letter is being sold by the Reeman Dansie auction house as part of a “Royalty, Antiques & Fine Art” auction, and is expected to fetch between £3,000 and £4,000. The auction listing also describes Diana’s hope that the Panorama interview would help other women in similar difficulties, as well as her focus on moving forward and supporting her children.
The disclosure comes amid continued public interest in the brothers’ relationship, with royal-watchers often revisiting Prince William and Prince Harry’s long-running rift and the family tensions that have played out in recent years. The letter is due to go under the hammer on June 9, adding another item of Diana’s personal correspondence to the market.
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, aged 36, leaving behind a legacy closely tied to her role as a mother as well as her public life. The sale of the letter is likely to draw attention both for its historic context and for its message about the kind of bond she hoped her sons would maintain.
