Duke denies Diana insult

The prince claims he is not the author of insults

Prince Philip has denied he branded Diana, Princess of Wales, a "trollop" and "harlot" in letters to his then daughter-in-law.

The Duke of Edinburgh issued a statement hitting back at suggestions that any of his letters to Diana had included such insulting terms.

He regards the suggestion that he used such derogatory terms as a gross misrepresentation of his relations with his daughter-in-law

Buckingham Palace statement

A Sunday newspaper claimed two weeks ago the contents of the private letters would have been revealed during the theft trial of former Royal butler Paul Burrell, had it not collapsed.

Earlier this month, Mr Burrell was cleared of all charges of stealing from the estates of Diana, the Prince of Wales and Prince William.

The bundle of correspondence formed part of the 'Crown Jewels' referred to during Mr Burrell's trial, along with a tape-recording detailing an alleged homosexual rape and a signet ring given to Diana by James Hewitt.

'Very upset'

But a statement issued on behalf of the duke on Saturday, said: "Prince Philip wishes to make it clear that at no point did he ever use the insulting terms described in media reports, nor that he was curt or unfeeling in what he wrote.

"He regards the suggestion that he used such derogatory terms as a gross misrepresentation of his relations with his daughter-in-law and hurtful to his grandsons."

In the aftermath of the trial of Diana's former butler, faith healer Simone Simmons claimed the Princess had shown her letters from the Duke in which he branded Diana a trollop and a harlot.

Miss Simmons, 47, told the paper that Diana had been very upset to receive letters from the duke warning her that she was damaging the Royal Family.

Diana was said to be upset by the letters

She said that the letters had been handwritten on cream-coloured A5 headed notepaper, were short and to the point, and curtly signed "Philip".

But a source close to the duke told the Press Association he typed all his personal letters, used white A4 paper and signed them "With love from Pa".

The original letters have apparently been lost.

But the Buckingham Palace statement said Prince Philip had kept copies of the letters and Diana's replies.

It added that the correspondence had begun in June 1992 "in a friendly attempt to resolve a number of family issues", ahead of the couple's announcement of their official separation in December that year.

The duke insists the correspondence should remain private.

But should the original letters turn up they would confirm his statement, the source told PA.

Miss Simmons insisted the letters shown to her by Diana were genuine and claimed they were still in circulation.

She said: "Those letters are around. I'm pretty sure I know where they are and who's got them. I won't say if it's a friend or not."

Miss Simmons added: "If they weren't written by Prince Phillip, why would Diana say they were? Diana wasn't lying."