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Diana Called Prince Philip 'Dearest Pa' In Letters

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The Associated Press

Published: December 14, 2007

LONDON - Jurors at the British inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed heard extracts Thursday from affectionate correspondence between the princess and her father-in-law, Prince Philip.

The letters exchanged between Diana and her father-in-law, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, were produced by Philip's private secretary, Sir Miles Hunt-Davis.

Fayed's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, has claimed that Philip directed a murderous conspiracy against the couple, who died in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997.

In one letter read to the jury, Diana wrote: "Dearest Pa, I was particularly touched by your most recent letter which proved to me, if I didn't already know it, that you really do care."

The letters were written at a time when strains were growing in Diana's marriage to Prince Charles, Philip's oldest son. Charles and Diana divorced in 1996.

Philip wrote on one occasion: "If invited, I will always do my utmost to help you and Charles to the best of my ability, but I am quite ready to concede that I have no talents as a marriage counselor!!!"

Addressing her father-in-law as "Dearest Pa," Diana wrote that "you are very modest about your marriage guidance skills and I disagree with you."

"This latest letter of yours showed great understanding and tact and I hope to be able to draw on your advice in the months ahead," she wrote.

Meanwhile, Rosa Monckton, a friend of the princess, said that, contrary to Al Fayed's claims, Diana had indicated she could not have been pregnant with Fayed's child. And Monckton said the princess knew Fayed had bought her a ring but she had no plans to marry him.

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