Letters revealing Princess Diana's intimate friendship with actor Terence Stamp are set to go under the hammer at Bonhams next week, offering a glimpse into the late royal's private struggles during her troubled marriage.
The correspondence, dating from 1991, shows how Diana opened up to the celebrated British actor about taking the antidepressant Prozac while also exchanging playful, risqué cards with him.
Mr Stamp's estate is selling the collection as part of the auction house's Sound & Cinema sale, which begins on June 15.
The trove of letters illuminates a previously unknown bond between the princess and one of British cinema's most distinctive leading men.
Princess Diana's cheeky postcard has been revealed as her intimate letters are heading to auction
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In an October 1991 letter, Diana expressed gratitude to Mr Stamp for a "perfect" risotto lunch, writing that she was "touched to the core by your understanding of my job/role and what comes with it!"
The following month brought another thank-you note, this time for a caviar lunch, in which she quipped: "No Prozac withdrawals as yet!"
By December, the princess was requesting another meal together, choosing a cheeky postcard depicting a bare female breast with the words: "All the Breast from London."
Another card she sent featured a couple in bed asking "Why did God invent SEX?" with the punchline inside suggesting married couples engage in intimacy "at least twice a year."
Princess Diana greeting Terence Stamp in 1988
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These personal exchanges took place just a year before Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story brought the princess's marital unhappiness to public attention in 1992.
Claire Tole-Moir, head of popular culture at Bonhams, said the auction would "showcase the many sides of Terence Stamp", providing fresh insight into his connections with Jean Shrimpton and Julie Christie alongside his friendship with Diana.
The sale also includes three letters from Ms Shrimpton to Mr Stamp, two written during their romance and another from 1987.
The pair were among the most photographed couples of the 1960s before their relationship ended in 1967.
Actor Terence Stamp sits on the Diana, Princess of Wales garden bench at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2000
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Terence Stamp pictured behind Diana in 1989
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Mr Stamp died last August at the age of 87, leaving behind a remarkable legacy in British cinema.
His career began with immediate acclaim, earning award nominations for 1960s films such as Billy Budd and The Collector, before later roles in the Superman franchise and a memorable turn as a transgender performer in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
The auction will feature Polaroid images documenting his Priscilla make-up process, along with costumes from Far from the Madding Crowd, Wall Street and Last Night in Soho.
His estate described the collection as reflecting "the full breadth of the man: the actor, the writer, the style icon, the traveller, the seeker."