Princess Diana worked as a private nanny before marrying into the British royal family. She seemingly lied about her age to get the job.
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Princess Diana's first work contract is up for auction, and it suggests she lied to get a nannying job before becoming a royal.
The princess, then known as Lady Diana Spencer, worked as a nanny for a private agency and as a kindergarten teacher before marrying Prince Charles in 1981.
Photos shared by Auctioneum, a UK-based auction house, showed Diana lied about her age in a contract for Solve Your Problem Ltd, a nannying agency for London's rich and famous.
Auctioneum
Diana filled out the contract in black ink in May 1979, two months before her 18th birthday. She incorrectly listed her birth date as July 1, 1960, when she was actually born a year later on July 1, 1961.
"Our client had always been told that this was done deliberately, in order that Diana would appear older and therefore more likely to secure a job with the agency, or at least a higher rate of pay!" auctioneer Andrew Stowe said in a press release sent to Business Insider.
"It could of course, just be a simple oversight!" he added.
Though the agency eventually discovered Diana's true age, it didn't stop her from getting a job. Someone thought to be a representative for the agency wrote "nearly 18" in blue ink next to where Diana had noted the wrong date of birth.
The same handwriting added: "Lovely girl — send anywhere."
Under the qualifications and experience section, the same handwriting reads: "cook — basic," alongside "housework," "animals" and "ballet dancer."
The references to Diana's cooking abilities were vague and seemed to be added by the employer in the same blue ink.
Darren McGrady, who worked as Diana's private chef at Kensington Palace from 1993 until 1997, previously told Us Weekly that she was an "awful cook."
"She didn't like to cook at all in the kitchen," he said.
In 1980, Diana was employed as a part-time nanny for Mary Robertson, an American businesswoman living in London. Speaking to Inside Edition in 2017, Roberston said she paid Diana $5 an hour to look after her son, Patrick.
Diana's time with Robertson overlapped with her relationship with Charles, whom she became engaged to in February 1981.
"She said, 'When you leave for work this morning, there are reporters and photographers at the end of the street,'" Robertson said.
"I asked, 'Who are they there for?' She said, 'They are there for me,'" she added.
Diana's contract will be featured in the Autographs and Memorabilia Online Auction on April 30. It's thought to be worth between £5,000 and £8,000 (between $6,200 and $9,940), the press release said.
Items owned by the royal family have sold for thousands — and sometimes millions — of dollars at auctions over the years. Most recently, a dress worn by Diana on royal engagements was auctioned at $1.1 million in December 2023, selling for 11 times more than its original estimate.
