A letter from Princess Diana that has never before been made public discloses her strong dislike of the capital and her preference for the Scottish countryside.
The correspondence, penned on royal-crested stationery and addressed to Katherine Hanbury, a former classmate from West Heath Girls’ School in Kent, was written from Balmoral Castle in the weeks following her 1981 marriage to the then-Prince Charles.
In the note dated September 27, the princess expressed her joy at spending time outdoors, writing: “I adore being outside all day & hate London!”
The collection is now heading to auction.
Princess Diana confessed she ‘hated London’ in an unseen letter written weeks after the royal wedding
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Diana described her Mediterranean honeymoon aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in glowing terms, telling her friend: “We had a blissful honeymoon with endless sun and luckily calm seas.”
The newlywed princess also shared her happiness about married life, noting: “Its wonderful being married – I think its safe to say that after two months…!”
Her letter suggests she was finding her feet within the Royal Family, with Diana remarking: “Its a case of playing with grown ups!”
The princess had married at just 20 years old, having departed school at 16 and briefly attended a Swiss finishing school before working at a nursery.
Diana, Princess of Wales, wearing a suit designed by Bill Pashley, and Charles III walk along the banks of the River Dee on the grounds of Balmoral Castle during their honeymoon
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The couple exchanged vows at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981, in a ceremony witnessed by an estimated 750 million viewers around the globe.
Following the service, the newlyweds embarked on a 12-day Mediterranean voyage aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia.
They then travelled north to the Royal Family’s Scottish estate at Balmoral, where Diana indicated in her letter that they would remain until the end of October.
The princess described this extended Scottish sojourn as “a big treat for us,” highlighting her fondness for the outdoor lifestyle that the Highlands offered compared to palace life in the capital.
Diana and Charles married on July 29, 1981 in St Paul’s Cathedral
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Prince William, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry playing on the banks of the River Dee, near Balmoral Castle, 1987
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The items will be sold at Gorringe’s Fine Art & Interiors auction house in Lewes, East Sussex, next month, with an estimated value of between £4,000 and £6,000.
The sale’s timing aligns with what would have been the 45th anniversary of the royal wedding.
Albert Radford, books and manuscripts specialist at Gorringe’s, said: “This intimate archive offers a rare glimpse of Diana, Princess of Wales, before duty and fame had the final say.”
He added: “She appears here as a young woman suspended between love and history – hopeful, unguarded, and not yet entirely claimed by the institution that would come to define her.”