A letter in which Princess Diana referred to the Queen as ‘the boss’ has sold for a world record sum of £8,700.
The candid note was part of a cache of 36 letters from Diana sold at auction for a combined £82,000.
They belonged to family friend Roger Bramble who Diana sought for support and advice during some of the most difficult years of her life.
The incredible collection of letters from Princess Diana fetched £82,000 at auction this week
Among them was a thank you note for taking her to lunch which she found a ‘much welcome distraction’ from her impending divorce to Prince Charles in August 1996 which sold for over £7,800.
In another from October 19, 1995, Diana wrote she feared she had made Mr Bramble, the then Lord High Sheriff of Westminster, late for an appointment with The Queen.
She thanked him for lunch at the swanky Bibendum and joked: ‘I just hope your arrival at Westminster Abbey was before the Boss (The Queen) and if not, I expect to have been mentioned in the excuses!’
Mimi Connell Lay, from the auction house, said: ‘One of the strongest bidders who bought a lot of the letters is a serious Diana collector based in the UK.
‘But we also had some very determined bidding from collectors in America as well.
‘People just love Diana, she was enormously popular.
‘You learn a lot more about her as a person from reading these letters. You see her character and personality and intelligence come out.
‘We are thrilled with the results of the sale and delighted for the vendors and that the proceeds are going to worthy causes Diana was associated with..’
The letter in which Princess Diana (pictured) described the Queen as ‘The Boss’ earned £8,700
The handwritten notes show the Princess of Wales’ distinctive handwriting style and signature
The letter were to Roger Bramble who was a source of support and advice to Princess Diana
The letters, which date from 1990 to 1997, have been hidden away in a cupboard in the Bramble family home for the past 24 years.
The family decided to sell them to show ‘what a delightful human being’ Princess Diana was.
They were sold by David Lay Auctions of Penzance, Cornwall, for an overall hammer price of £67,900. With fees added on the total came to £82,000.
A letter she wrote noting the first time she had been out since her divorce and under her new title, sold for £7,500.
Diana wrote in October 1996: ‘It is the first time Diana, Princess of Wales has actually been taken out to lunch since August 28 – I am very selective..’
A 1992 note in which she described her ‘ghastly week’ in the wake of the publication of Andrew Morton’s biography which revealed she had attempted suicide went under the hammer for £1,350.
The late Princess Of Wales is escorted into the London festival ballet charity event by Councillor Roger Bramble, representing the Lord Mayor Of Westminster
The letters were sold to buyers across the world and proceeds will be split to four funds known to be close to the Princess of Wales
The messages date back to 1990 and run until just a few months before the Princess of Wales’ tragic death in 1997
The sale also included a letter sent to Mr Bramble from Diana’s mum Frances Shand Kydd in which she described how her daughter joyously danced barefoot while on holiday in Venice in 1990.
She described how their Italian bodyguards ‘lusted over her legs’. It sold for £4,000.
The proceeds of the auction, that attracted bidders from all over the world will be split between the English National Ballet, Opera Rara, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra and the Benesh International Endowment Fund.
A statement for the Bramble family said: ‘We have been concerned that contemporary portrayals of Diana may become accepted wisdom in the minds of the public.
‘We believe these letters reveal the writer to be an affectionate, cultivated and delightful human being and that their wider publication could only do credit to their author.’