Blitz Bureau
THE Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex have been brothers at war since a falling out that saw Harry stepping back from royal duties and leaving Britain.
But now handwritten notes from their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, have revealed that William used to “pour an endless supply of hugs and kisses over Harry”. The letters and cards from the Princess to her family’s former housekeeper have sold at auction for more than £54,000.
Violet Collison, whom Diana affectionately called Collie, was head housekeeper to her parents at Park House on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where Diana spent her childhood years. More than a dozen letters and cards from Diana were sold at an auction in Essex on July 30..
The correspondence, auctioned by Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet, reveals that Collie remained in Diana’s thoughts throughout her life. Most of the letters to Collie are thank-you notes for birthday and Christmas presents given to Diana and her children, William and Harry. These notes often include a line or two about Diana’s life at the time.
After the marriage of Diana’s parents ended, Collie followed Diana’s mother to London in 1967, working for her and her new husband until her retirement in 1973. Collie’s personal invitation to the royal wedding on July 29 1981 and ticket to Diana’s funeral on September 6 1997 were sold together for £1,300. Luke Macdonald, director at Sworders Auctioneers, said the letters were “so intimate”.
Collie died in 2013 at the age of 89.
