Today (August 31) marks 27 years since Princess Diana tragically lost her life in a car crash in Paris, aged just 36, leaving her young sons Princes William and Harry without a mother.
Recently, an auction revealed intimate details about Diana’s life as personal letters she wrote went under the hammer. The letters – written to her childhood housekeeper Violet Collison – sold for £51,850 at the end of July.
And one letter in particular shared a heartwarming insight into William and Harry‘s former relationship.
One letter, written at Kensington Palace on September 25 1984 thanks Violet – who she affectionately called Collie – for a gift she had given Harry shortly after his birth.
The late Princess of Wales is the subject of a Channel 5 documentary this weekend, 1997: Diana’s Last Summer.
Princess Diana letter about William and Harry unearthed
In the letter, Diana wrote: “William adores his little brother and spends the entire time pouring an endless supply of hugs and kisses over Harry.”
Another notable letter was written at Buckingham Palace on July 8 1981, just three weeks before she married Prince Charles, who is now the King.
She wrote: “Everyone frantically busy here doing last-minute decorations … the bride-to-be has remained quite calm!”
The last piece of correspondence sent from Diana to Collie seems to be a Christmas card from 1994.
The card sees an image of Diana sat with her two sons, with Harry wrapping his arms around her.
Within the documents sold were Collie’s invitation to Diana and Charles’ wedding, and her ticket to Diana’s funeral.
Collie was the head housekeeper at Park House on the Sandringham Estate, where Diana grew up.
After the divorce of Diana’s parents, Collie continued to work for her mother, Frances Ruth Roche, and her second husband Peter Shand Kydd.
Collie remained close with the Spencer family until her death in 2013 at the age of 89.
Princes’ royal rift
The letter about William’s adoration for Harry shows a stark contrast to the relationship they have today.
A highly-publicised feud has embroiled William and Harry since Harry and his wife Meghan Markle stepped down as senior working members of the royal family in 2020.
And Harry opened up on what has caused “part of the rift” with his family in a documentary last month.
In ITV’s Tabloids On Trial, about the phone hacking scandal, Harry was asked if his persistence to sue the British media had contributed to the feud.
He responded: “Yeah, that’s certainly a central piece to it. But, you know, that’s a hard question to answer because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.
“I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done.
“It would be nice if we, you know, did it as a family. I believe that, again, from a service standpoint and when you are in a public role, that these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good.
“But, you know, I’m doing this for my reasons.”
Read more: William, Prince of Wales’ ‘greatest tribute’ to late mother Princess Diana
1997: Diana’s Last Summer airs on Channel 5 today (August 31) at 9pm.
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