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Is it right to auction letters from Diana? |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Dec 2015
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Is it right to auction letters from Diana?
An auction is taking place of letters sent by Princess Diana to friends, courtiers etc. One to a servant reveals that Harry was constantly naughty at school and sold for over £1000. It's thought there's interest as it's the 20th anniversary of her death this August. Only some will be sold and any containing anything sensitive or slagging off any other royal won't be auctioned.
To me they should remain private. I don't think people should profit from them. What do you think? If I had one I'd hang on to it as a keepsake. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: London
Posts: 585
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Quote:
An auction is taking place of letters sent by Princess Diana to friends, courtiers etc. One to a servant reveals that Harry was constantly naughty at school and sold for over £1000. It's thought there's interest as it's the 20th anniversary of her death this August. Only some will be sold and any containing anything sensitive or slagging off any other royal won't be auctioned.
To me they should remain private. I don't think people should profit from them. What do you think? If I had one I'd hang on to it as a keepsake. Otherwise, indifferent either way. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Mar 2011
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I don't know whether to be disgusted or impressed that various bodies are still trying to extract money by feeding from a rotting corpse after all this time.
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#4 |
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Join Date: Dec 2015
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They didn't say on the news at 3 whether any money will be donated to charity or not. I know hand-written letters from Elvis, JFK and Marilyn Monroe fetch a lot of money in the states.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Nov 2006
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That's why I don't have servants.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Aug 2010
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I think it's fine to sell these letters - letters are the property of the recipient after all.
We see letters, after a certain number of years, from Thatcher, Kenney and Onassis, lots of famous people. I see no reason why these particular letters shouldn't be sold if that's what the owners wish to do. There seems to be a market for them, after all. |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Bristol
Posts: 9,435
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Quote:
An auction is taking place of letters sent by Princess Diana to friends, courtiers etc. One to a servant reveals that Harry was constantly naughty at school and sold for over £1000. It's thought there's interest as it's the 20th anniversary of her death this August. Only some will be sold and any containing anything sensitive or slagging off any other royal won't be auctioned.
To me they should remain private. I don't think people should profit from them. What do you think? If I had one I'd hang on to it as a keepsake. Quote:
They didn't say on the news at 3 whether any money will be donated to charity or not. I know hand-written letters from Elvis, JFK and Marilyn Monroe fetch a lot of money in the states.
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#8 |
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Quote:
I think it's a bit crass to sell them, but then again, as long as they don't divulge any secrets, or anything that might be used as 'ammuntion' against anyone, I don't see the harm. From what I read on the BBC, they mention that Williams smothers his baby brother with kisses and that Harry was always in trouble in school. Now if they're the most 'juicy' revelations in the letters, the rest of them must be deeply dull. Interesting to some perhaps, in as much as they were written by Diana, but probably not anything the Royals or the Govt. are going to lose any sleep over, so where's the harm. They'll probably be bought by some wealthy American who loves anything to do with the Royal Family.
I can't find it now, but I gather from the BBC article that the letters and other things are in the private ownership of the family of the 'servant' Diana wrote/ gave them to. There was nothing to suggest that any of the proceeds would go to charity. (Which isn't to say they won't. There was no comment from the seller in the article, so it didn't elaborate on why they were selling them at this time.) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38508089 The items are being sold by the family of the late Mr Dickman, who was head palace steward for more than 50 years. Described by Cheffins as "a favourite of every member of the Royal Family", he received handwritten notes from other senior royals dating back more than 30 years. |
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#9 |
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Quote:
I think it's a bit crass to sell them, but then again, as long as they don't divulge any secrets, or anything that might be used as 'ammuntion' against anyone, I don't see the harm. From what I read on the BBC, they mention that Williams smothers his baby brother with kisses and that Harry was always in trouble in school. Now if they're the most 'juicy' revelations in the letters, the rest of them must be deeply dull. Interesting to some perhaps, in as much as they were written by Diana, but probably not anything the Royals or the Govt. are going to lose any sleep over, so where's the harm. They'll probably be bought by some wealthy American who loves anything to do with the Royal Family.
I can't find it now, but I gather from the BBC article that the letters and other things are in the private ownership of the family of the 'servant' Diana wrote/ gave them to. There was nothing to suggest that any of the proceeds would go to charity. (Which isn't to say they won't. There was no comment from the seller in the article, so it didn't elaborate on why they were selling them at this time.) Jackie Kennedy's letters were sold a few years ago, letters by all sorts of people are sold all the time, as well as belongings. Museums too are full of personal letters from people of historical note. Just because the letters are from Diana it doesn't mean they shouldn't be sold if some fool is willing to pay for them. They are, after all, the owner's inheritance from the sounds of it. ETA: For all we know, he left them the letters for that purpose, as their inheritance. Last edited by muggins14 : Yesterday at 16:12. Reason: Deleted unnecessary sentence |
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#10 |
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Quote:
It mentions they belonged to the late Mr Dickman of Buckingham Palace so one imagines he did keep them as part of his memories of working life and now the family want to make some money , not sure I would disagree with that but personally I would keep them, but they may very well need the cash. The auction is for other letters as well not just Diana.
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#11 |
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Quote:
Not quite sure why you think it's crass - they may mean more to some collector than they do to the family of the recipient. After all, as you have said, 'they must be deeply dull'.
Jackie Kennedy's letters were sold a few years ago, letters by all sorts of people are sold all the time, as well as belongings. Museums too are full of personal letters from people of historical note. Just because the letters are from Diana it doesn't mean they shouldn't be sold if some fool is willing to pay for them. They are, after all, the owner's inheritance from the sounds of it. ETA: For all we know, he left them the letters for that purpose, as their inheritance.
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#12 |
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Letters belong to the people who receive them and thereafter to any beneficiaries after they die, so how can it be wrong to sell them??
If someone is willing to spend thousands on the meanderings of a dead royal then go for it. I'd flog the lot. |
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#13 |
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Quote:
Crass only in as much as it's the family selling them. Who they're from and what they say is largely beside the point to me on that. I know it's sentimentality on my part. Some people see 'things' as just that, and attach no emotion to them, and would probably consider me foolish for being the opposite. If I were able to let go more, I wouldn't still have old baby clothes, books, toys, drawings etc cluttering up my attic.
![]() I have a few things from Jr's baby days, but not much just a select bunch in a 'special' box.I came to realise after Mum and Dad died and their belongings were all destroyed in August when a pipe burst in their house - our inheritance, that the items meant nothing really, I'd rather have them back. |
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#14 |
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Quote:
It mentions they belonged to the late Mr Dickman of Buckingham Palace so one imagines he did keep them as part of his memories of working life..
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#15 |
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Looks like someone's making money from Diana's memory then. Someone's tens of thousands of pounds richer now.
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#16 |
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Looks like someone's making money from Diana's memory then. Someone's tens of thousands of pounds richer now.
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#17 |
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Quote:
Looks like someone's making money from Diana's memory then. Someone's tens of thousands of pounds richer now.
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#18 |
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People make money all the time off peoples' memories - Elvis, Shakespeare, Henry VIII, dinosaurs
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#19 |
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If people want to pay serious money for this stuff, then so be it.
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