The divorce of Princess Diana and Prince Charles shocked the royal-watching world in 1996.
The details surrounding Charles and Diana’s divorce were extremely controversial, given Charles’ years-long affair with his present wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, during his marriage to Diana. Diana confronted Camilla about the affair in 1989, the couple divorced in 1992, and Charles admitted to his infidelity in a 1994 interview.
The situation was messy and undoubtedly disturbing for everyone in the royal family. However, at least one member of the royal family is said to have supported Diana in her divorce. While Princess Diana and Prince Philip were not known to get along (there were accusations that he was “unkind” to her during her marriage to Philip, according to CNN), it appears he was there for Diana during the painful divorce— to a degree at least.
Former royal butler Paul Burrell leaked letters reported to have been exchanged between Prince Philip and Diana in the divorce, showing that he supported her over Charles. The Sunday Times reported at the time that Philip was attempting to stop the letters from being published, suggesting that they were authentic.
The following are extracts from Philip’s alleged letters to Diana (signed “fondest love, Pa”), which were first released in the Daily Mail:
“I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla.”
And: “Charles was silly to risk everything with Camilla for a man in his position. We never dreamed he might feel like leaving you for her. Such a prospect never even entered our heads.”
Of course, not everything revealed in the supposed letters was positive. At one point, Philip allegedly wrote Diana asking, “Can you honestly look into your heart and say that Charles’s relationship with Camilla had nothing to do with your behavior towards him in your marriage?” In other words: “Isn’t it kind of your fault he cheated on you?” Ugh.
The letters have sparked renewed interest as a result of an article published by RSVP Life. The Mirror released scans of multiple letters from Diana to her father-in-law in its recent report on the Philip letters, in which she asks for his guidance and thanks to him for his answers.
