Princess Diana's letters to former Norfolk housekeeper sold at auction

Handwritten letters and cards from Diana, Princess of Wales, to her family’s former housekeeper have sold at auction.

The letters, addressed to Violet Collison, whom Diana affectionately called Collie, raised £51,850 at the event in Essex on Tuesday.

Collie was head housekeeper to Diana's parents at Park House on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where Diana spent her childhood years.

The notes span from before Diana's marriage to Prince Charles, the then-Prince of Wales, through the births of her children, Princes William and Harry, and beyond.

They include Collie's personal invitation to the royal wedding, as well as a ticket to Diana's funeral in 1997.

Luke Macdonald, director at Sworders auctioneers, said the letters were “so intimate”.

The many cards and thank-you notes reveal that Collie remained in Diana’s thoughts throughout her life.

Discussing Collie’s relationship with Diana, Mr Macdonald said: “She was a constant in Diana’s life, somebody she could relate to and perhaps even escape from the world she was in.

“There was huge affection, she adored her.”

Collie died in 2013 at the age of 89.

The highest-valued lot included a letter, written from Kensington Palace on 25 September 1984, in which Diana thanked Collie for a gift to Harry.

She noted that “William adores his little brother & spends the entire time pouring an endless supply of hugs & kisses over Harry”.

Offered together with a Christmas card from the same year, the lot was sold for more than £10,000.

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