Over 300 items from Princess Diana\u2019s collection will go up for auction later this month\u2014one of the largest sales of the late Princess of Wales\u2019 clothes, shoes, and other personal keepsakes in history.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
One item in the sale is a letter dated July 31, 1981\u2014just two days after her royal wedding to Prince Charles.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The correspondence, written to a Buckingham Palace footman, showed a vulnerable Diana admitting that she was \u201cterribly lonely\u201d in the leadup to her big day.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Just two days after her royal wedding to Prince Charles<\/a> on July 29, 1981, the newly minted Princess Diana<\/a> wrote to a Buckingham Palace footman that she was \u201cterribly lonely,\u201d a letter revealed.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Lady Diana Spencer on June 24, 1981<\/p>\n The letter is one of 300 items going up for sale in an auction called \u201cPrincess Diana\u2019s Style & A Royal Collection,\u201d set to take place on June 26 at 10 a.m. Pacific time at The Peninsula Beverly Hills and put on by Julien\u2019s Auctions. The handwritten and signed letter was written on July 31, 1981\u2014just two days after her wedding day\u2014to Mark Simpson, a footman at Buckingham Palace. Martin Nolan, co-founder and executive director of Julien\u2019s Auctions, told People<\/a> it was \u201cone of my favorite pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a couple of days after she got married,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019d been living in Buckingham Palace as she was transitioning from being a normal person to being a royal and the future queen. So she had to learn from the Queen Mother and the Queen [Elizabeth] about curtsying and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, and Princess Diana on March 7, 1981<\/p>\n Nolan added that Diana \u201chad fun with Mark Simpson, the footman. And he was about the same age, a little bit older than her. And she talks here, it speaks of how she was lonely when she was in the palace.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter reads as follows: \u201cDear Mark, I just wanted to thank you for all your kindness + patience you\u2019ve showed towards me since I moved into B.P. [Buckingham Palace]. My stay was made so much easier by your company as it was so terribly lonely + we had so many laughs for that I can\u2019t thank you enough. Do hope you were able to enjoy Wednesday + that you liked my dress? I\u2019m off to Britainia tomorrow, what with all those men around. I will have to keep a watchful eye on Evelyn! The bad news is that I haven\u2019t eaten any cereal\u2014sob. How am I going to cope without my bowls of cereal\u2026[smiley face]. A large thank you for being you.\u201d It was signed, \u201cMuch love, Diana.\u201d<\/p>\n The correspondence shows that Diana\u2019s early days of royal life were \u201cno fun,\u201d Nolan told People.<\/p>\n Terry Fincher\/Princess Diana Archive\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Princess Diana and Prince Charles on their July 29, 1981 wedding day<\/p>\n \u201cBut [Simpson] cheered her up and they had fun,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd she talks about the bowls of cereal that they used to have and how is she going to do without all the bowls of cereal? So that\u2019s a really, really great piece. Because it speaks volumes.\u201d<\/p>\n Brides<\/a> reported that the aforementioned letter\u2014one of many up for auction\u2014has a starting bid of $1,000, but \u201cit\u2019s estimated to sell for between four and six times that.\u201d<\/p>\n One item that interested parties won\u2019t find in the auction later this month? A winter coat, Nolan told People<\/a>. \u201cWe learned through this how generous Diana was, always giving items,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you never see a coat from Diana come to auction, because she used to get her butler or her staff or friends to drive around London, [in] January, February, [in the] freezing cold.\u201d<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Princess Diana<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019d find homeless people, and she would give her coats away,\u201d Nolan added. \u201cThat\u2019s how she was\u2014without any spectacle or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7766e9a076deed89e0cf9405a20fcee7.jpeg\"\/)
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