Previously unseen Princess Diana letter gives sweet insight into Princes William and Harry’s childhood Christmas

The Princes were said to be 'thrilled' at the thought of Christmas.

princess diana unseen letter princes william harry christmas
(Image credit: Getty)

Princess Diana opens up about sons Prince William and Prince Harry in a previously unseen letter that how now been unearthed.

  • A letter from Princess Diana, which has never been seen before in the public eye, has recently come out in the open.
  • In the sweet letter, the late Princess gives an adorable insight into how sons Prince William and Prince Harry spent Christmas during their childhood.
  • In other royal news, the Duke of Cambridge will be missing a very important event next week for an inconvenient reason.

It’s always interesting to get an insight into how the royals live.

And when it comes to Christmas, that interest peaks.

Do they all gather around the tree early in the morning, the whole family pyjama-clad, scrambling to open their presents?

Or maybe they take a nap after Christmas lunch because there was just one cheese too many on that dessert board.

MORE: The special meaning behind the Duchess of Cambridge’s rings

And which of the royal family members actually tune in to catch the traditional Christmas day Queen’s speech?

Well now, we’ve all been given some insight into the typical royal Christmas Day, and it has come from a rather unlikely source.

A personal letter, handwritten by the late Princess Diana, has gone up for auction – and it details how her sons spent Christmas Day.

princess diana unseen letter princes william harry christmas

The letter was written by the Princess of Wales in 1990 to a Mrs Ivy Woodward, a woman who Princess Diana met visiting Prince Charles in the hospital.

The two had met in September of that year, when the royal visited her husband in hospital after he had broken his arm playing polo, while Mrs Woodward sat beside her son who was in a coma after being caught in a motorbike accident.

Addressed to Mrs Woodward who lived in Nottingham at the time, Princess Diana’s handwritten letter details how she was preparing to spend the festive season with her two young sons, who were eight- and six-years-old at the time.

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Dearest Ivy,’ reads the letter, ‘I’ve been thinking about you & John a great deal as we head towards Christmas & wondering how life was treating you.'

After expressing her thoughts about the couple’s son, whose condition seemed to be improving, the royal wrote, ‘The boys are thrilled at the prospect of Christmas on the horizon & have searched high & low for any parcels that might be coming their way!’.

We wonder if the Cambridge and Sussex children do the same!

Aleesha Badkar
Digital Beauty Editor, woman&home

Aleesha is Digital Beauty Editor at woman&home, where she gets to share her expertise into all the best techniques, sharpest tools and newest products—with a particular savvy in skincare and fragrance.

Previously, she was Deputy Editor and Beauty & Fashion Editor for My Imperfect Life, where she headed up the beauty, fashion and eCommerce pages. In the past, she has worked as Shopping Writer at woman&home, gained an AOP awards nomination after working on their news team, contributed to Women's Health, Stylist and Goodto and earned an MA in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London.