Princess Diana’s personal letter offers insight into early royal marriage

A previously unseen letter written by Princess Diana during her 1981 honeymoon with then-Prince Charles is set to go under the hammer in July, offering a rare and intimate glimpse into the early days of one of the most closely watched royal marriages in modern history.

The letter, dated September 27, 1981, was addressed to Diana’s former school friend Katherine Hanbury, a classmate from West Heath Girls’ School in Kent. It was written while the couple’s honeymoon period continued, following their royal wedding on July 29, 1981.

In the handwritten note on royal stationery, the then 20-year-old Diana described her early married life as “wonderful” and referred to what she called a “blissful honeymoon.” She wrote about enjoying “endless sun” and “calm seas” while sailing aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, before continuing their stay at Balmoral in Scotland.

Diana also reflected on her new surroundings within the royal household, describing life as “a case of playing with grown-ups,” while expressing her love for the outdoors and her dislike of London. She added that being married felt “wonderful,” noting that she and Charles were adjusting to life together during their extended honeymoon period.

Following their wedding, Charles and Diana spent part of their honeymoon cruising the Mediterranean on the Royal Yacht Britannia before travelling to Balmoral Castle, where they stayed through the early autumn months.

The letter is part of a wider collection of personal items belonging to Hanbury, which includes school photographs of Diana and is expected to fetch between £4,000 and £6,000 at auction. The sale is scheduled to take place in July, coinciding with what would mark the 45th anniversary of Charles and Diana’s wedding.

Auction specialists have described the archive as a rare insight into Diana’s life before she became one of the most recognized public figures in the world.

According to Albert Radford of Gorringe’s Fine Art & Interiors, the materials present Diana as a young woman who appeared “unassuming” and focused on ordinary life, long before royal duty and global fame defined her public image.

Radford added that the collection reflects a period when Diana was “hopeful and unguarded,” offering a contrast to the intense public scrutiny that would later surround her life.

Royal biographers have long noted that Diana later expressed a desire for the public to better understand the genuine affection that existed in the early years of her marriage.

Writer Ingrid Seward has previously said Diana believed her private correspondence with Charles could have shown that their relationship began with real love and mutual affection.

The emergence of the letter adds another personal dimension to the story of Diana and Charles’s relationship, which ultimately deteriorated in the years that followed, leading to their separation in 1992 and divorce in 1996.