Diana wrote many of the party invitations she sent by hand, including this one for Prince Harry’s 4th birthday celebration.
Diana sent this birthday-party invitation to a woman she met at a hospital.
Courtesy of Princess Diana: A Tribute Exhibition
People might think that busy royals such as Diana might delegate time-consuming responsibilities like writing birthday-party invitations, Corelli said.
But according to the curator, the mom of two often eschewed formal stationery with her coat of arms on the letterhead, in favor of stationery she bought on the high street.
“She’d buy the kind of inexpensive, kid-themed invitations that most people get from stores,” Corelli said. He added, “She’d write them by hand, which gave them a personal touch.”
The exhibition includes a colorful invitation that Diana dispatched for Prince Harry’s 4th birthday party in 1988 at Kensington Palace. She filled in all the blanks on the card, which featured balloons and a dog wearing a crown.
It was addressed to Doreen Myers, who had become a confidant of the princess. Corelli said Diana met Myers in the hallway of a hospital.
“It was during a private visit, not a formal engagement,” Corelli said.
He said the royal “struck up a friendship” with Myers.
“She had a kind of pen-pal relationship with a lot of people she randomly met,” Corelli said. “It’s testimony to her compassion that she reached out to people that she felt needed extra love and support.”
