Princess Diana’s handwritten thank you note from before her engagement to Prince Charles is set to fetch $2,000 (£1,500) at auction.
The note – believed to have been written in 1980 – sees Diana, who would have been 19 at the time, admitting to her hosts that she had overindulged in chocolates at Christmas.
In the letter, Diana wrote: ‘Dear all, Just a quick note to say an enormous thank you for all you organised and did over Christmas’.
She added: ‘As for that delicious box of chocolates, I have helped to finish them off and now feel very large!’
The note, which has been brought to auction by an anonymous seller, is now expected to fetch thousands in an online sale held by the US-based Julien’s Auctions.
Princess Diana’s handwritten thank you note, believed to be from 1980, has gone up for sale
The letter is dated December 28, but does not state a year – although royal experts believe it is from 1980, just months before Diana and Charles announced their engagement.
The note is headed with the address of Diana’s London flat in Coleherne Court, along with her phone number.
It is not clear who Diana spent Christmas with that year, but she definitely appeared to enjoy herself.
The Princess of Wales concluded the letter by writing: ‘I do hope you enjoyed the day as much as I obviously did and again many many thanks for making Christmas so memorable.
The handwritten note, addressed ‘Dear all’, sees Diana thanking her hosts for ‘all you organised and did over Christmas’
The Princess of Wales, who would have been 19 at the time, signed off the letter ‘With love from, Diana’
‘With love, from Diana’.
Commenting on the letter, expert Grant Harrold, who is known was the Royal Butler, told FEMAIL: ‘This is a lovely and rare insight into a letter written by Diana Princess of Wales.
‘As it is written to “Dear All”, it may be a round robin letter to perhaps a large group of people. There may even be more than one copy of this letter if this is the case.
‘This was possibly written while the future Princess of Wales was dating Prince Charles.’
Mr Harrold added: ‘You don’t often see private letters from the late Diana Princess of Wales estate coming up on auctions for members of the public to be able to purchase.
The letter is believed to have been written just months before her engagement to Charles
‘Many personal items you only get to see when on public display.’
Diana lived in Coleherne Court, a luxury residential block in Knightsbridge, for two years before her engagement to Charles, when she moved into Clarence House.
The three-bedroom flat was a present from her parents in July 1979, after she turned 18.
Notes written by Diana before joining the royal family are rare, although a letter she wrote in 1990 recently also went up for auction.
The letter, addressed to fashion designer Bruce Oldfield and his business partner Anita Richardson, includes her candid thoughts on turning 30.
Bidding on Diana’s thank you note, which is being handled by Julien’s Auctions, is open, with the highest bid so far being $900 (£675). The sale ends on June 23.