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LONDON: The British Library has called for a
philanthropist to buy Princess Diana’s letters to lover James Hewitt and to
donate them to its collection.
Mr Hewitt told CNN’s Larry King on Wednesday that he was prepared to sell the
letters but that they would have a multi-million dollar price tag.
Dr Christopher Wright, head of manuscripts at the library, said: “There is no
way the British Library would be able to afford some
of the sums that have been mentioned so donation would be a preferred route.”
The 63 letters were written between 1989 and 1991 and include ones penned while
Mr Hewitt, a former officer in the Life Guards, was serving in the Gulf War.
He told CNN he was interested in selling the letters to a museum or private
collector – despite previously saying he would not put them up for sale. He has
reportedly been offered $6.4 million for just 10 of the letters from Diana, who
was still married to Prince Charles, heir to the British throne at the time of
their affair.
Mr Wright said: “It would be satisfactory if they came to rest in a major
national institution like the British Library.
“In the case of a major public figure such as the late princess, it is better
for their papers to be in a major collection where preservation and access to
them is guaranteed. A philanthropic benefactor might consider that buying them
and presenting them to the national collection is something they might like to
do.”
He added the library would consider “restricting or prohibiting access for a
period of reservation to anyone other than heirs” because of the privacy
concerns of Diana’s family. The British Library’s collection of royal includes
letters from Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VII.
Mr Hewitt told CNN: “I’m not being hypocritical. I’m being honest. I think it’s
important to understand that they are or will become important historical
documents.”
And he said selling the letters was better than leaving them to sit and “rot in
a safe”.
He said: “I think it might be irresponsible not to sell them and to generate
something one can do some good with.” When asked if he would use it to “do a lot
of good”, he replied he would but did not elaborate.
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