Princess Diana's 'desperate' regret over divorce from Charles detailed in letters sold for more than £145k

Princess Diana's 'desperate' regret about her divorce from Prince Charles has been revealed in some handwritten letters from the late Princess of Wales that were recently sold at auction.

• Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married for fifteen years between 1981 and 1996.
• The couple's marriage ended in divorce after a number of affairs were highly publicized by the press.
• In other royal news, King Charles played an absolute 'blinder' over Harry and Meghan's coronation invitations.

Princess Diana expressed certain regrets about her divorce from Prince Charles in some private letters to her close confidantes, Susie and Tarek Kassem. The collection of letters has since been unearthed and sold at Lay's Auctioneers in Cornwall for £145,550.

In one of the letters dated 20 May 1996, Diana expressed regret as she wrote, "If I had known a year ago what I'd experience going through this divorce, I'd never have consented - it's desperate and ugly."

While many of reports suggested that both Prince Charles and Diana were unhappy in their marriage and eager to get divorced, this letter suggests that the Princess did experience some regrets after beginning the proceedings and realizing how much of a strain this would take on her and her children. 

The letters were held onto for more than 25 years by the recipients, but they have now made the decision was made to sell these private messages in order to fund some of the charities close to Diana'a heart. The release of these private letters from the late Princess is still considered controversial, but the sizeable charitable funding they will provide will undoubtedly help organisations continue the Princess' charity work.

A post from the Auctioneer revealed, "Susie & Tarek Kassem, as very close friends of Diana, Princess of Wales, have treasured these letters for over 25 years. They reflect the special and loving relationship they had with the most unique women that they had ever known. Now, in 2023, the ownership of these poignant documents is a responsibility that the Kassems do not wish to pass on to their children or grandchildren. They have decided to sell the letters and use proceeds of the sale to support some of the charities that were close to Susie and Diana's hearts."

In another letter, Princess Diana then opened up about how difficult she was finding the divorce. In a letter dated April 23, 1996, Diana wrote, "I am having a very difficult time and the pressure is serious and coming from all sides.

The letter continued, "It's too difficult sometimes to keep one's head up and today I'm on my knees and just longing for this divorce to go through as the possible cost is tremendous. Lots of love, Diana."

In yet another letter, dated December 1996, the Princess wrote that she was not a 'lover of Christmas' and planned to go abroad as she joked, "I will top myself if I remain here!"

In a poignant note at the end of this letter, she wrote, "I hope that '97 will be an easier year for us all." Of course, the Princess would later die in a car accident in August 1997 at the age of 36 years old.