Prince Charles feared divorce from Diana

British Prince Charles feared a possible divorce a year before marrying Diana, according to his 1980 letter that appeared at an auction in the United States, reports the Patria news agency.

"I sincerely hope you have recovered from such a painful event as marriage and divorce in such a short time," he wrote to Janet Jenkins, a receptionist at the British Consulate in Montreal whom he met in 1975.

"Fortunately, you realized in time that you made a mistake, so you didn't start a family," he added.

"Starting a family and making such a mistake is truly something that genuinely concerns me," Prince Charles wrote in confidence.

The seven-page handwritten letter on paper with the Windsor Castle logo was offered for auction for $3,900 by Los Angeles collector Alicia Carroll, an expert in memorabilia related to the British monarchy.

The letter is part of a package of six letters written by the Prince of Wales to Janet Jenkins, the collector told AFP, saying she bought them directly.

Alicia Carroll tried to sell them on eBay in 2009 for $30,000 and found a buyer, she said. But the sale was eventually canceled because the buyer's credit card was declined.

Prince Charles married Diana in July 1981. They divorced in 1996, a year before the fatal car accident in Paris in which Diana lost her life.