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The unlikely source of comfort Diana found when her marriage broke down

It the midst of her marriage falling apart with Prince Charles, it seems Princess Diana sought comfort from an unlikely member of the royal family.

In the new Netflix documentary, The Royal House of Windsor, it was revealed that Prince Philip actually wrote a “string of deeply personal letters” to Diana, supporting her after finding out his son was having an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Prince Phillip made his disappointment in Charles clear as he blamed the affair for contributing the breakdown of Charles’ marriage to Diana.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage began to break down after the news of his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Source: Getty
Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage began to break down after the news of his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Source: Getty
Prince Phillip offered Princess Diana support through a string of letters after he found out about his son’s affair. Source: Getty
Prince Phillip offered Princess Diana support through a string of letters after he found out about his son’s affair. Source: Getty

“One of the original royal outsiders quietly entered the conversation,” the documentary makers said in the In the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“Prince Philip, a man who had given up his naval career to stand in his wife’s shadow, wrote Diana a string of deeply personal letters.”

One of which letter read, “I can only repeat what I have said before. If invited I will always do my utmost to help you and Charles to the best of my ability but I am quite ready to concede that I have no talent as a marriage counsellor.

“We don’t approve of either of you having affairs.

“Charles was silly to risk everything for Camilla, for a man of his position,” Prince Phillip wrote.

Prince Philip wrote to Diana that it was ‘silly’ of his son to risk everything for Camilla. Source: Getty
Prince Philip wrote to Diana that it was ‘silly’ of his son to risk everything for Camilla. Source: Getty

As a private secretary to the Princess of Wales from 1989-1996, Patrick Jephson says the letters suggest the Royal Family clearly knew of Charles’s behaviour and disapproved of it.

“Here at last was written proof that it was acknowledged, recognised, and there was sympathy for her,” he said.

The letters are seen as proof that the royal family acknowledged the matter and showed sympathy for her. Source: Getty
The letters are seen as proof that the royal family acknowledged the matter and showed sympathy for her. Source: Getty

However reports have claimed that the supportive relationship between Prince Phillip and Diana was not one to last after she supposedly ignored his advice and aired her marriage woes in public.

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