King Charles Wrote of 'Unbearable Emptiness' in Unearthed Letter Written Months After Princess Diana's Death

Mar. 15, 2025

Prince Charles and Princess Diana in Balmoral.Photo:Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty

Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty

A letterKing Charleswrote in the immediate aftermath ofPrincess Diana’s Aug. 31, 1997, death is shedding new light on his grief.

The King, who was then Prince Charles, wrote about “unbearable emptiness” just under four months after the late Princess of Wales died in a car accident in Paris. The letter, sent to Peter Houghton, recently sold at auction for $2,000, according to theDaily Mail.

It is clear in the letter that Houghton is also grieving, as the former Prince of Wales writes that his heart “bleeds” for him following the death of “dear Liz” (who the royal referred to as a “life-enhancer”) after an illness. Charles added that he could imagine the “agony” Houghton was going through and “longed to wave a magic wand to transform the situation.”

King Charles' Dec. 8, 1997 letter.Courtesy:RR Auction

Courtesy:RR Auction

The letter then addresses his “bewilderment and confusion that accompanies the removal of someone so young from the world” — a familiar feeling, as his ex-wife, Princess Diana, was just 36 at the time of her death.

The letter also elaborates on the royal’s Christian faith and his beliefs on what happens when someone dies, quoting a Bible passage that reads, “Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face-to-face.” He added, “Personally, I believe that there is another dimension beyond this physical one and that we will be amazed to discover it for ourselves when we are eventually — or at a moment — called upon to make that certain journey for ourselves.”

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Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, pose outside Chateau de Chambord during their official visit to France on November 9, 1988 in Chambord, France.Georges De Keerle/Getty

Prince Harry, Princess Diana’s younger son,arrived in Colombiawith his wife,Meghan Markle, on Aug. 15. During a breakfast meeting that morning with the South American country’s vice president Francia Márquez and her husband, Rafael Yerney Pinillo, Márquez shared her admiration for Princess Diana with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Earlier in the day at a press conference ahead of the couple’s arrival, Márquez was asked about a trip Princess Diana planned to make to Colombia shortly before her death, per theDaily Mirror.

Prince Harry, Princess Diana.Chris Jackson/Getty; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

“I think that Prince Harry being here today after that dream of his mum’s of visiting this country is an opportunity to show the best of our nation, to show who Colombians are,” she said. “We are people who, in the midst of adversities, do everything possible to give the best of ourselves.”

Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 43, will visit the cities of Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali during their visit to Colombia.

source: people.com