A letter Princess Diana wrote during her 1981 honeymoon with the future King Charles has been unearthed and is set to be auctioned in July. And in the letter, Princess Diana made an unexpected revelation about newlywed life.
On May 8, Gorringe’s auction house announced the upcoming sale of a trove of rare materials related to the late Princess of Wales, who died following a 1997 car accident in Paris at age 36. Apparently, the collection came from Katherine Hanbury, a childhood friend of Diana’s, who attended school with her between 1973 and 1977.
The auction is set to take place on July 7 and includes The Honeymoon Letter, which shares an unexpected perspective on marrying Prince Charles, then heir to the throne, in July 1981.
The Telegraph reported what the letter says, reading, “We had a blissful honeymoon with endless sun and luckily calm seas… we are now in Scotland until the end of October, which is a big treat for us – I adore being outside all day & hate London!”
“It’s [sic] wonderful being married – I think it’s [sic] safe to say that after two months…!”
The letter also goes on to suggest that the 20-year-old newlywed was adapting to her new life within the royal family, saying, “Its [sic] a case of playing with grown-ups!”
According to Gorringe, the three-page letter was dated September 27, 1981, and was written during her honeymoon at Balmoral in Scotland.
After marrying on July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana started their three-month honeymoon with a 12-day cruise aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. From there, they traveled to Egypt and the Greek Isles before retiring to Balmoral Castle, the private getaway in the Scottish Highlands.
The whole collection is expected to fetch between $5,400 and $8,000 and will be offered for sale at Gorringe’s Fine Art & Interiors on July 7.