"Dear Princess, I'm still reading your book about your life. It's astonishing. It's exactly the same story as mine. In other circumstances, however. I'll remain in touch with you and will write you soon. Yours Faithfully."
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Letters to Diana Princess of Wales by John L. vander Heyden Trafford Publishing
book review by Sherokee Ilse
In Letters to Diana, Princess of Wales, van der Heyden describes an alleged relationship with the deceased Princess. Within the pages of the 470 page book, the author shares his weekly correspondence. Letter after letter (some are called Reports and many include both of their horoscopes) are written to Princess Diana, her staff, and to others giving extensive details about what he does with his days, his dreams, his ambitions, and his outreach to royalty and heads of state. He invites Diana to be his business partner and investor in his newly created company, Instituto Cervantes, whose purpose is educational and to promote improved relationships between Dutch, English, and Spanish speaking people. His letters prove he is a very persistent businessman with lofty goals.
Throughout the year of outreach to the Princess, the author refers to Diana as his business partner and continuously declares his love for her. Showing his affection and captivation with the Princess, he offers advice, compliments on her clothing and speeches, comments on how she handles her sons, expresses disgust at how maligned she is by the media, and more. Sprinkled throughout are pictures of hotels visited, cars driven, sites seen, and various people.
Curiously, it is never evident that the author actually met Diana or if she ever wrote back to him. In early 1997, he wrote to the Prime Minister asking for help in officially requesting her hand in marriage. Then he planned a ceremony for Sept. 28, 1997 including booking the site and reporting the news to officials and royals. Sadly, the beloved Princess of Wales died a month earlier than his proposed wedding date. Though the book needs editing and a better introduction, it does give the reader a look into the mind and plans of this Dutch businessman who dreams of unions with royalty and improvement of relationships between countries.