Exclusive: Princess Diana's Former Bodyguard Says She Shared One Surprising Trait With King Charles
Ken Wharfe tells 'Marie Claire' about one side of his former boss that the public didn't get to see.
As Princess Diana’s former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe witnessed the ups and downs of the late royal’s life in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. When reflecting on Diana’s legacy, he tells Marie Claire that fans didn’t get to see some of the sides of the princess he remembers the most—and that she shared one big thing in common with King Charles.
The King is an obsessive letter writer, and in 2022, it was revealed by the palace that he writes more than 2,400 letters a year, including notes to members of the public. Speaking on behalf of Casino.org, Wharfe says that although Diana’s marriage was falling apart, she always took time to recognize others, just like her husband.
“Diana was a prolific letter writer,” he shares. “I used to encourage her not to write quite so many letters, but I think it was part of her aristocratic upbringing. She'd been brought up to believe that if somebody showed you kindness or hospitality, you always wrote to say thank you.”
Princess Diana is pictured at her Kensington Palace desk in 1985.
“She wrote constantly, and her letters were wonderfully warm and often very funny,” Wharfe adds.
Several of Diana's cards and letters have gone up for auction in recent years. In 2025, a touching note she sent to a footman at Buckingham Palace went on the auction block, with the royal thanking him for his support in the days leading up to her 1981 wedding.
In addition to her writing hobby, Wharfe says that Diana “was also very interested in current affairs,” adding that “she always wanted to know what was happening in the world and what was going on in politics.”
Prince Charles is pictured at his desk during his Cambridge days.
Along with constantly sending thank you notes, Wharfe says that she’d frequently give small gifts to people she met in her travels, calling her "incredibly generous.”
The former royal protection officer recalls one detective who Diana “was very fond of” who'd been targeted by the IRA. “Whenever we traveled over, she'd ask me, ‘What shall we get your friend? He's such a nice man,’” Wharfe shares. “I said, ‘Well, he likes his Irish whiskey.’”
He notes that every time they headed to Northern Ireland after that, Diana would make sure they had a bottle to bring for the detective.
Ken Wharfe is pictured next to Diana as they leave a polo match.
Diana meets fans in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1992.
Wharfe also recalls a time when a Secret Service agent helped Diana walk down some stairs when she was blinded by photographers’ flashes at a fundraising gala in Washington, D.C. “She said, ‘Oh, he was very nice, Ken. Perhaps I should give him a present tomorrow for being so helpful.’”
The next day, Diana brought a signed photograph to give to the agent, but he’d “hidden himself behind one of the bushes outside the White House.”
It turns out Wharfe had mentioned to the man that people don’t typically touch members of the Royal Family, and he was too embarrassed to show his face. ”In the end I had to persuade him to come out so she could give him the signed photograph,” Wharfe shares. “It's perhaps a slightly unusual story, but it perfectly sums up the way she treated people.”
“Whether it was a police officer in Northern Ireland, a Secret Service agent in Washington or someone she'd only just met, she wanted them to leave with a happy memory,” Wharfe says.
