Royal life, Prozac and champagne: What Princess Diana’s letters to Terence Stamp reveal about their friendship
By Sam Peters, CNN
London (CNN) — Private letters from the late Princess Diana to actor Terence Stamp, who died last year, are going on sale, revealing the depth of their friendship and touching on topics such as royal duties, mental health and their social lives.
Written between July and December 1991, the correspondence details the princess’ friendship with the British star. The letters are part of an auction of Stamp’s estate at Bonhams in London.
In one letter written in September 1991, Diana thanks Stamp for lunch, saying “the champagne was excellent and I reckon that there aren’t many bottles like that around.”
The front of the light-hearted card reads: “Why did God invent Sex?…” Before continuing inside “…so that married people do something together at least twice a year!”
On December 7, 1991, Diana asked Stamp to lunch, saying: “I haven’t seen a Cancerian for far too long and cannot cope with Christmas without a meeting.” The message is written on a postcard of a bare breast with a face drawn on it. The writing on the front of the postcard reads: “All The Breast from London.”
Not all of the letters are in such light spirits. Diana wrote to Stamp on October 17, 1991, saying: “You are so kind to me and I’m touched to the core by your understanding of my job/role and what comes with it.”
She continues: “Not many people would take the time and trouble to delve into such a complex situation… Three cheers for Prozac, not the American variety I hasten to add.”
Prozac, the brand name for the drug fluoxetine, is used to treat depression and other mental health conditions, such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and bulimia, according to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
The letters, sold separately, are expected to sell for between £500 ($670) and £2,000 ($2,700) apiece, and are part of a wider auction of Stamp’s estate at Bonhams starting on Monday.
Stamp, who died last year, was “a defining figure of London in the swinging sixties, emblematic of a certain style and charm,” Claire Tole-Moir, head of popular culture at Bonhams, said in a press release.
He then rose to global fame playing General Zod in the 1978 “Superman” movie, reprising the role for “Superman II” two years later.
Two scripts for “Superman” and “Superman II” with Stamp’s initials embossed on the front are also up for auction as a single lot, expected to fetch between £3,000 ($4,000) and £5,000 ($6,700).
Personal correspondence from Princess Diana, who died in 1997 at age 36, has been sold before. In 2024, letters from Diana to her former housekeeper Violet Collison, nicknamed Collie, were sold at auction.
Another collection of 32 letters from Diana to Susie and Tarek Kassem, two of her close friends, sold for £145,550 (around $195,000) in 2023, the BBC reported. The letters were written between 1995 and 1997, during which time her divorce to the then-Prince Charles was finalized.
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