Letter in which Princess Diana discussed marital woes before Martin Bashir interview set to sell
>
‘I am one of three people in a triangle’: Letter in which Princess Diana opened up about her marital problems months before her infamous interview with Martin Bashir fetched up to £2,200 at auction
- The letter is dated May 11, 1995 and addressed to a mysterious Mrs. Cotton.
- It was written six months before the infamous interview with Martin Bashir.
- Do you know the identity of Mrs. Cotton? Email harry.s.howard@mailonline.co.uk
A letter written by Princess Diana discussing her marital problems is about to go on sale.
The letter on a single sheet of Kensington Palace letterhead is dated 11 May 1995 and addressed to Ms Cotton.
The letter says simply: ‘If life were that simple. It is my dearest wish. Sadly, the reality is that I am one of three people in a triangle.’
It was written six months before she told Martin Bashir on the BBC: “There were three people in this marriage,” referring to her, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla.
A letter written by Princess Diana discussing her marital problems is about to go on sale. The letter says simply: ‘If life were that simple. It is my dearest wish. Sadly, the reality is that I am one of three people in a triangle’
Princess Diana and King Charles in Seoul in 1992, the year they formally separated.
The letter goes on sale at Chiswick Auctions on February 14.
Letters written by Princess Diana are not uncommon at auction, but sales manager Valentina Borghi says this one is of particular interest.
She says it’s ‘so personal and intimate in content’ and is ‘quite remarkable as it makes direct reference to the famous ‘there were three people in this marriage’ quote.
The identity of Ms. Cotton, someone with whom Diana might share such personal information, is currently unknown.
“I’m afraid the seller bought the letter from a dealer some time ago with very little additional information,” says Valentina Borghi.
“So far we have not been able to identify Mrs. Cotton, but we hope someone knows who she is.”
The auction house has given the letter an estimate of between £1,800 and £2,200, but hopes it can bring more.
The letter was written a year before Diana and Charles got divorced. They had separated in 1992, but continued to perform royal duties together.
Diana died in a car accident in the Tunnel de l’Alma in Paris in 1997.
The letter was written six months before she told Martin Bashir on the BBC: “There were three people in this marriage,” referring to her, King Charles, and Camilla.
Charles married Camilla in 2005, but the couple had been romantically involved for several years of his marriage to Diana.
Diana’s interview with Bashir was viewed by 23 million people and sparked a global media frenzy.
To secure access to the princess, Bashir showed his brother, Earl Spencer, fake bank statements that suggested his former head of security had been taking money from the tabloids and security services to spy on his sister.
Once he had access, Bashir told Diana a series of lies, convincing her that Prince Charles was having an affair with then-royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, now Alexandra Pettifer, and that she became pregnant and miscarried as result.
The sale comes as a set of 32 other letters and cards written by Diana to her friends Susie and Tarek Kassam are also going up for auction, selling for £90,000.
Written between the end of 1995 and throughout 1996, Diana spoke about topics such as isolation and the fear that her phone was tapped.
The couple sells the letters because “owning the documents is a great responsibility” that they did not want to pass on to their children.
The Kassems have kept some of their most personal and confidential correspondence with Diana.
The couple, who live in London, will sell the letters at Lay’s auctioneers in Penzance, Cornwall, on February 16.