After being hidden away in a wardrobe for close to two decades, David Lay Auctioneers in Cornwall has sold a collection of nearly 40 letters and Christmas cards from Princess Di to her friend Roger Bramble, then Lord High Sheriff of Westminster.
According to InStyle, the Bramble family hoped that the letters would show the public a different side of the princess, especially since Netflix's The Crown had dramatized the issues she experienced.
In one of the letters, dated June 12, 1992, Princess Di wrote of a “ghastly week”. At that time, Andrew Morton’s Diana biography was being serialized in the Sunday Times.
The letters had guide prices from £300-500 ($400-700) and up to £1,500 ($2,000), and the collective estimate was £20,000-30,000 ($28,000-42,000).
However, the collection ended up achieving nearly £70,000 ($95,000). Among the most expensive lots was a letter from October 1995, which went for £7,200 ($10,000). In it, Diana thanked Bramble for a lunch at Bibendum in Chelsea; she also referred to Queen Elizabeth II as "the Boss".
The proceeds from the auction are to be split between four charities with which Diana worked: the English National Ballet, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, Opera Rara, and the Benesh International Endowment Fund.
