It’s been almost 23 years since Princess Diana tragically died in a car accident at the age of 36, and yet there’s still so much we don’t know about the woman known as the People’s Princess.
One thing has always been certain: Her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, were the most precious things in the world to her. Now a new never-before-seen letter is proving just that once again. Paul Burrell, Diana’s former butler, has often spoken to the press about the princess in the years since her death, much to the chagrin of some who’d prefer to keep her secrets…secret. But the new correspondence he released this week is simply very sweet.
“As Harry, Meghan and Archie embark on a new life, I am reminded of some poignant words which Princess Diana wrote to me many years ago,” he wrote on Instagram, alongside a black-and-white photo of the three royals. “They are a mother’s words of unconditional love, which are as appropriate today as they were when she wrote them over 24 years ago.”
The note was apparently written not long before Diana died in 1997. “I love my boys to death and hope that the seeds I’ve planted will grow and bring the strength, knowledge, and stability that is needed,” she wrote to Burrell. The words could apply to almost any mother talking about her children and her hopes for their futures.
Of course, we’ll never know what Diana thinks of her sons’ paths in life, but many commenters thought the note gave insight into how she would have reacted to Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back from royal life. “You offer the most sober, loving reminder that Diana provided the Princes with the finest grounding and love for service to humanity. She would want @sussexroyal to find their way to that, in their own, authentic fashion,” one user wrote.
