Prince Philip Told Diana No One 'In Their Right Mind' Would Leave Her for Camilla, His Letters Revealed

Letters later published by Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, reportedly show Prince Philip offering her support in 1992 as her marriage to his son Charles collapsed. 'I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla,' one letter reportedly said. Camilla Parker Bowles married Charles in 2005 and is now Queen.

The letters first appeared in October 2003. The Daily Mirror printed them in extracts from Burrell's book, A Royal Duty. CNN called them letters purportedly written by Philip, and Charles's office declined to comment at the time. Other letters from 1992 appear to show Philip blaming Diana for the split.

Praise and Blame in the Duke's Letters

In the letters Burrell made public, Philip told Diana that he and Queen Elizabeth II both disapproved of Charles's affair. In his view, neither husband nor wife should take lovers. He called his son silly for risking so much and said the idea of Charles leaving her for Camilla had never entered their heads. The letters date from the summer of 1992. Charles and Diana announced their separation that December.

In other letters from the book, Philip asked Diana whether she could honestly say the affair had nothing to do with how she treated Charles. He likened jealousy to a cancer in the marriage and said her behaviour after Prince William's birth in 1982 had not helped. Burrell said Philip never accused her of harming the monarchy, and that the remarks wore the princess down because she had respected him, though she admired his honesty.

What the 2007 Inquest Heard

Heavily edited letters between the two reached court in December 2007, at the inquest into how Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997. Philip's private secretary, Brigadier Sir Miles Hunt-Davis, produced 10 of them, six from Diana and four copies of Philip's typed replies. He said none was derogatory. Hunt-Davis also told the inquest that Philip had previously denied writing anything like the correspondence described in press reports. Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died with her, had claimed Philip ordered her death, but the coroner found no evidence for it.

Diana's own letters thanked Philip for trying to save the marriage. 'I was particularly touched by your most recent letter,' she wrote in one. Philip admitted he had no gift for marriage guidance. The letters were submitted to the jury as evidence of genuine affection. In April 2008, the jury found that the grossly negligent driving of chauffeur Henri Paul and the paparazzi following the car had unlawfully killed Diana and Dodi.

What Her Friends Said and What Followed

Lucia Flecha de Lima, a close friend of Diana's, said she read about half a dozen of Philip's letters. She found them tough but constructive, and said they read 'like a father writing to a daughter.' Another friend, Rosa Monckton, told the inquest she helped Diana draft her replies.

Diana later spoke publicly about Camilla, telling the BBC's Panorama in 1995 that three people were in her marriage. Philip died at Windsor Castle in April 2021, aged 99. Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, revisits that marriage in his memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, out since 22 September.