On 31 August 2026, it will be 29 years since the death of Princess Diana. She died at the age of 36 following a car accident in Paris, yet nearly three decades later her story continues to be enriched with new details. Within 2026 alone, previously unknown photographs and handwritten letters by Diana have entered the public domain from private collections: her brother has announced candid memoirs, and a major exhibition is being prepared in the United States that will show for the first time the last dress she tried on before her death. Taken together, these materials allow us to see behind the polished image of the "people's princess" a living human being — young, in love, witty and at the same time deeply vulnerable.
School years at West Heath
In 2026, the personal archive of Catherine Hanbury — Diana's friend, with whom she studied at the girls' school West Heath in the 1970s — was put up for auction. The collection included four previously unpublished colour photographs of the future princess: in two of them she poses in her dormitory room, in one she stands by the school sports field, and in a group shot she relaxes with other pupils. The auction house notes that among the girls in this photo one can also see the future actress Tilda Swinton and the director Joanna Hogg. The archive also held a small birthday card signed by the future princess "Diana (S)" — using her maiden surname Spencer. Her friend's recollections paint a far from royal side of life: young Diana voluntarily helped clean the headmistress's house, and her biggest dream at the time was to have a family of her own.
A letter from the honeymoon
The same archive preserved a three-page letter that Diana sent to Catherine Hanbury on 27 September 1981 — two months after her wedding to Prince Charles. The message was written on royal paper while the couple were staying at Balmoral in Scotland. Diana described a sunny and peaceful honeymoon and confessed that she was happy in her new status: "Being married is wonderful — I think after two months you can say that." Today these lines read with particular bitterness, given that the princess later spoke frankly about loneliness, Charles's infidelities and the psychological difficulties within the royal family. The archive with the photographs, the card and the honeymoon letter was sold for 4,000 British pounds.
A letter after the Panorama interview
Another personal letter by Diana was released in June 2026. She wrote it on 27 November 1995, shortly after the resonant interview with the BBC Panorama programme. The message was addressed to Michael Barrett, who had sent the princess words of support after the television appearance. In the two-page handwritten letter, Diana expressed the hope that her frank account would help other women who found themselves in similar circumstances. A passage deserves particular attention today, in which she wrote that she wanted to teach William and Harry to communicate more deeply and not hide their feelings — against the backdrop of the ongoing tension in the relationship between her sons. The letter was sold at auction for 4,100 British pounds.
A platonic friendship with Terence Stamp
New details about Diana's character were also revealed by her correspondence with the British actor Terence Stamp, known for the films "Superman", "The Collector" and "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". A close but platonic relationship developed between them: according to Stamp, Diana needed a man with whom she could talk frankly and receive impartial advice. In a letter dated October 1991, the princess thanked the actor for a risotto dinner and for trying to understand the complexity of her situation, leaving an ironic comment in the message. Other surviving cards from the collection showed her informal humour, which was rarely seen at official appearances. The letter was sold at Bonhams auction for 4,608 British pounds.
Her brother's memoirs, an exhibition and a new biography
Beyond the auction finds, 2026 brought other events connected with Diana's legacy. Her brother announced candid memoirs, and a major exhibition is being prepared in the United States where the last dress she tried on before her death will be shown for the first time. In June 2026, royal biographer Katherine Mayr published the book "Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles", which contained an unexpected claim about Diana's teenage years, citing the recollections of her school friend. All these materials together form a fuller and more human portrait of the princess, which continues to take shape nearly three decades after the tragedy in Paris.
