British royal destroyed Diana letters: Book

September 24th, 2009 LONDON - Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing has revealed that it was late Princess of Wales Diana who actually came up with the idea of the controversial romantic novel 'The Princess and the President'. Giscard d'Estaing, 83, revealed in an interview with Le Point, released on September 24, that Lady Diana came up with the book idea and encouraged him to set it down on paper.

September 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Prince William has said his idea of royal duties was not to be "an ornament". The second in line to the British throne confessed at a St James' Palace forum that "there is a place" for shaking hands on official visits but he would rather be more involved than just "turning up and opening things".

September 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's novel about a secret love affair between a Princess from Cardiff and a dashing French president has caused speculation to arise as to whether the book is based on fiction or reality. Questions have risen as to whether the former president was just a confidant, if not a lover, of Diana, Princess of Wales, as extracts from the book speak about familiar situations.

September 21st, 2009 LONDON - Princess Diana's relationship with Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, had deteriorated after her appearance on the BBC's Panorama in November 1995 which "skewered" Prince Charles. The secret feud between the two princesses was laid bare on Sunday, revealing a relationship riven with hatred, bitterness and fierce rivalry.

September 20th, 2009 LONDON - In one of her missing letters to the Queen Mother Princess Diana claimed that Prince Charles had three lovers while they were married. Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997, named Camilla, Aussie Lady Dale Tryon - known as Kanga - and another high society squeeze in the sensational note, reports The Daily Star.

September 19th, 2009 LONDON - Fascinating letters written by Lawrence of Arabia have been found years after they were thought to have been burned on a fire. In the letters, the hero of the Arab revolt in the First World War talks about his love of motorcycles, which led to his death in a road accident in 1935, reports The Telegraph.

September 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Late Princess Diana has apparently become a forgotten member of the British Royal family, as the official biography of the Queen Mother comprises just two pages on the beauty with insufficient facts. Critics have slammed the book written by William Shawcross for not exploring The Queen mother's views on the princess' death in a car crash in 1997.

July 14th, 2009 LONDON - A series of letters written by Gandhi and Nehru and a piece of signed khadi cloth were sold by Sotheby's Tuesday for a total of 17,500 pounds, the London auction house said. The Gandhi items were bought jointly by two prominent Indian-origin industrialists - Ghulam Noon, founder of Noon Products and popularly known as Britain's Curry King, and Nat Puri, founder of Purico Group.

May 26th, 2009 LONDON - A Sikh group from Slough has written to Queen Elizabeth requesting her to return property and items belonging to the family of Punjab's last king Ranjit Singh. The Telegraph quoted Jagdeesh Singh, from the Sikh Community Action Network, as saying: "We have written to the Queen asking for access rights and the eventual return of items such as historic copies of the Sikh national sacred writings, together with swords and weapons of the Sikh gurus." According to Singh, letters, diaries and writings of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the Sikh ruler exiled to Britain in the 19th century, are also part of the collection, some of which is housed at Windsor Castle.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A professor from the University of California, San Diego, has discovered a trove of letters written by Benjamin Franklin. The notes, which have not been seen in more than 250 years, turned up in the British Library.

March 23rd, 2009 LONDON - The Royal Navy elite flying instructors inspired the American Top Gun fighter pilot academy, a new book has revealed. The British contribution of a dozen instructors was a substantial help to the Americans struggling for aerial success over Vietnam According to The Telegraph, when British pilots arrived at Miramar airbase in California in the early 1960s, the Americans were losing a large number of dogfights in their multi-million Phantom fighters to the enemy's relatively "cheap" MiG 21s.

March 19th, 2009 LONDON - Pop sensation Lady Gaga is besotted with British Prince Harry but insists she will not give up her fashion fetishes for the royal family. Contactmusic.com reports that the 'Just Dance' hitmaker has a fondness for the newly single prince, who recently split from girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - The online auction of love letters reportedly written by Britain's Prince Charles has sparked a row. The prince allegedly sent the letters to Welsh-born Janet Jenkins, reports Contactmusic.

March 1st, 2009 LONDON - More than 50 leading Indian writers led by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen are to gather in London for a two-day marketing blitz aimed at promoting Indian books in Britain. Alongside, British publishers will work with their Indian counterparts to push British book sales in India, organisers of the April 20-22 London Book Fair told reporters in London Friday.

December 27th, 2008 LONDON - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has banned staff from revealing details of their work in a bid to prevent further embarrassing leaks of the goings-on in the royal household, according to reports Sunday. More than 200 butlers, cooks and general and cleaning staff are to sign confidentiality contracts by which they could lose their jobs for discussing any aspect of the royal household even with their own families, the News of the World reported.