An angry letter written by Prince Charles slamming Princess Diana’s ex-butler has sold at auction for nearly £2,000.
The four-page handwritten note was penned by the future king in November 2002.
Weeks earlier Paul Burrell - Diana’s ex-butler - had gone on trial on theft charges relating to 310 of items worth £4.5m belonging to the princess who died in 1997.
The Old Bailey trial collapsed part-way through after the Queen recalled that Burrell had told her he was keeping some of Diana's possessions.
In the letter to Marjorie Dawson, who was the personal maid and dresser to Princess Alexandra for 36 years- Charles lamented the “ghastliness” of the episode.
He also took aim against Royal household staff who 'exercise their pathetic jealousies and vendettas in public'.
The letter, which was consigned by a private collector, fetched a hammer price of £1,500 with London-based Chiswick Auctions.
Extra fees took the final figure paid to £1,950.
In it, Prince Charles had written: “Bless you for taking the trouble to write as you did in the wake of all the ghastliness that has been going on!
"I find it utterly incredible, as I have done nothing but show people like Paul Burrell every consideration over the years.
"Unfortunately we are now to be treated as mere pawns in a terrifying and ongoing media circulation war where the actual facts are totally disregarded and vast sums of money are offered as bribes to former and current members of staff to exercise their pathetic jealousies and vendettas in public.
"One member of staff has been offered a total of £5 million by the newspapers in recent weeks."
Valentina Borghi, specialist at Chiswick Auctions, said: "It is rare to find a letter from Prince Charles which is so open about his feelings.
"It was a difficult time for the Royals and I believe he was pretty upset when he wrote this letter.
"We are used to a much calmer version of Prince Charles, so he must have been very hurt when so many people he thought he could trust were willing to make money by selling private facts about his family."
Earlier this year a slice of wedding cake from the Queen's nuptials in 1947 went up for sale.
The perfectly preserved piece of fruit cake, which came in its original presentation box, was set to be sold at auction.
The slice was one of 2,000 pieces given to guests at Buckingham Palace after the wedding ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.
