Princess Margaret Destroyed Princess Diana's Letters To The Queen Mother

Britain's Princess Margaret destroyed letters written by Princess Diana to the Queen Mother. Margaret, the Queen Mother's daughter, apparently decided to destroy all trace of the private notes due to the highly personal nature of their content.

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In a new biography of the Queen Mother, William Shawcross writes: "No doubt Princess Margaret felt that she was protecting her mother and other members of the family."

"It was understandable, although regrettable from a historical viewpoint."

The notes were disposed of while the Queen Mother was in Scotland, with Margaret writing to tell her mother she was planning to sort through her personal items at Clarence House and Royal Lodge.

She wrote: "I am going back today to clear up some more of your room. Keeping the letters for you to sort later."

Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997, married Prince Charles - the Queen Mother's grandson - in 1981, but they split in 1992. They finally divorced in 1996.

The new tome does not include details of the Queen Mother's feelings towards Diana, but does state she was unhappy with the couples' decision to conduct TV interviews about the breakdown of the relationship.

She is known to have said: "It's always a mistake to talk about your marriage."

Britain's Daily Mail reports: "The decision by the princess was 'deeply shocking' to the royal matriarch, who felt that the 'washing of dirty linen in public was utterly abhorrent,' according to Shawcross."

Diana's death is only briefly referred to in "Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: the Official Biography."

Shawcross says: "In the early hours of Sunday August 31, the Queen wrote her mother a note to be given when she awoke, telling her of the tragedy."