Princess Di's Letters to Former Lover Read

ByABC News via logo
December 17, 2002, 9:28 AM

Dec. 17 -- Some of Princess Diana's most private and intimate thoughts have been published in a London tabloid after her former lover, James Hewitt, shared some of her love letters with an undercover reporter.

Hewitt told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America today that the content of some of Diana's letters got out after a London tabloid reporter pretended to be interested in purchasing them. He says sections of the letters would have never been published if he had not been tricked.

Meanwhile, Hewitt says is now willing to sell the letters if they could bring in a large sum of money.

"I wasn't willing to sell the letters," Hewitt said. "I was approached and was offered a substantial sum," he said. "I was intrigued to see if it was possible to achieve this. So in the end, I suppose, yes, I am willing to sell."

Hewitt's lawyer, Michael Coleman, said he read out extracts from the letters to the reporter, including what the paper said were intimate admissions of love.

Greed

One of the excerpts published in the News of the World, a British tabloid, read: "Of course I remember your experience with the two French ladies. It was a story I was told more than once, and obviously you were chuffed to bits with what took place. But I got over that eventually. I think it's called greed. No doubt you've looked around all the ladies by now, and I wonder what your score card looks like. All chicks look good with a tan."

The News of the World, said Hewitt, a former army officer, offered his collection of 64 letters to a reporter posing as a middleman for a fictional Swiss tycoon.

The British tabloid reported that Hewitt tried to sell his letters to the undercover reporter.

"I want 10 million pounds [about $16 million] for the lot," the tabloid quoted him as saying.

It also said that Hewitt made no effort to check the real identity of the alleged buyer.

Hewitt's attorney, Michael Coleman, said his client did all he could to ensure the offer was genuine and made it clear the letters were not to be published.