Diana’s intimate love letters offered for $1million in “final insult” to the late Princess of Wales.
The princess’s letters to James Hewitt are reportedly being offered for sale in the US, sparking fears that they may be made public.
Letters that Diana wrote between 1989 to 1991 are expected to be sold to a wealthy collector for up to $1m (£780,000).
The former British Army officer, Hewitt, has previously tried to sell the letters as collateral for a £500,000 loan.
Princess Diana's letters to James Hewitt are being offered for sale
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During an interview with Martin Bashir for BBC’s Panorama in 1995, the princess admitted to having an affair with Mr Hewitt.
The letters exchanged between the pair are suspected to be intimate and could cause embarrassment for the royals if they were to be released.
Ingrid Seward, a royal commentator said: “James Hewitt has betrayed Diana in so many ways so this is just the final insult.
“I presume Hewitt desperately needs the money and he sees the value in these letters.
James Hewitt, now 65, has previously offered the letters as collateral for a £500,000 loan
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“Diana was a prolific letter writer but none of this intimate nature.
“It is unthinkable these notes for such a sensitive time in her life could become public.”
The Sun revealed that in October 2023, intermediaries on behalf of Hewitt contacted London auction house Bonhams to sell the cache.
An email from the company said: “We believe that open market auction would almost certainly be the best way to achieve the best price.”
King Charles and James Hewitt on the polo field in 1991
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However, Bonhams decided not to sell them and encouraged Hewitt to sell the letters abroad.
The firm wrote: “We would recommend sale in the US because there do seem to be more potential buyers at this level there, and because the sale is likely to be less contentious than in the UK.”
Hewitt then went to a US auction house called Heritage, based in Dallas, Texas who claim to be the “world’s largest collectibles auctioneer.”
An email sent in late January by a Heritage chief discussed arrangements for “the material to be fully insured at $1million.”
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James Hewitt kept 64 letters exchanged between 1986 and 1991
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It said: “After much discussion, it was decided that the best way forward to proceed was to work with a likely potential buyer they already have in mind for a private sale.
“They (the Heritage partners) feel this would remove the letters from appearing at public auction for a long time and remove us from any negative fall-out.”
Hewitt sold his story about Diana in a tell-all book called Princess in Love.
During the BBC’s Martin Basher interview Diana said: “Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very let down.”
