Princess Diana letter written one year before her divorce goes on auction

Letter written to Dudley Poplak thanks him for birthday gifts

(Getty Images)

A letter written by Princess Diana in 1991, the year before she and Prince Charles divorced, has gone on auction.

Written to her close friend Dudley Poplak to thank him for three drawings he produced for her 30th birthday, the letter also sees the late Princess of Wales contemplate “what the next ten years will bring”.

The letter, written on Kensington Palace headed paper, is dated 27 June 1991, six years before Diana’s death.

In the letter, Diana describes Poplak’s drawings as “wonderful” and explains she was “deeply touched” by them.

“I do wonder what the next ten years will bring,” she continues.

“The last ten I have learnt a great deal in an interesting way!”

The letter is being sold by David Lay Auctioneers alongside a card from Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, dated 4 December 1997, four months after Diana’s death.

In the card, Kydd spoke about delivering a speech for a memorial mass for Diana at St Columba’s Cathedral in Oban in Scotland.

Kydd wrote that she was “seared rigid” with nerves before the speech, adding: ‘”since my children had taken on the world in the Abbey I really thought their mum should be able to do her home pitch!”

(David Lay Auctioneers (David Lay Auctioneers)

Both items are estimated to sell for between £400 and £600.

Mimo Connell Lay of David Lay Auctioneers commented: “These two items are from a retired dealer who is selling some of his most treasured items that he has kept for years. The letter from Diana is quite short but the content is strong.

“The line where she contemplates the past decade during which she got married, became a mother and her marriage broke down, and what the future holds for her is very poignant.”