A quite fabulous part handwritten letter from King Charles III (Then Prince Charles) is to be sold at Chiswick Auctions in London with a £1,000 - £1.,500 estimate.
This is an interesting lot as it is the first piece of King Charles III memorabilia to be sold at auction since the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Charles acceding the throne to become King Charles III.
Pub quiz time: did you know that at 73 years-old Charles is the oldest person to ever ascend the Briitsh throne?
The letter has been typed on Royal Mourning paper from Charles' London residence at Clarence House, hence the black border,
The letter reads in full:
"I was so touched that you should have written as you did about my beloved grandmother. I have dreaded her eventual departure and now she leaves behind an enormous chasm in my life.
However, she also leaves behind the most wonderful legacy of unbelievably happy memories; of fun, laughter and an atmosphere of constant affection and interest in everything.
Such vital and extraordinary spirits are rare and I feel profoundly blessed that the Good Lord allowed me to have such a heavenly grandmother who taught me so many of the most valuable things in life. Oh, how we shall all miss her and everything she stood for...".
Charles has signed boldly in black ink pen at the base of the letter., with a handwritten 'Dear Marjorie' in the introduction.
However the rarity here is with the handwritten annotations that Charles has added.
Firstly "Bless you for your dear letter, with much affection, Charles",
And secondly in the underlining of the word 'dreaded' in the first paragraph.
The signed letter is being sold with it's original envelope from Buckingham Palace dated 16th May 2002, addressed to 'Marjorie Dawson'
Marjorie Dawson, who had been orphaned at 12 years of age, became Princess Alexandra of Kent's maid at the age of 39 and served the Royal household until she retired aged 75, in 1990.
On her 100th birthday Marjorie's birthday card from Queen Elizabeth II was personally delivered by Princess Alexandra.
She is one of few staff to have stayed in every Royal Residence and was a supporter, and ultimately a friend of Prince Charles, hence Charles' very personal words in this letter.
Following her death in 2019 at the age of 104 Marjorie's personal letters and belongings were auctioned by Hanson's Auctioneers in 2020, with this letter now appearing for sale again.
To explain how rare Royal Memorabilia actually is; it is against Royal Protocol to sign autographs for members of the public. For example, we have only seen two genuine examples of Prince William's autograph hit the market. It is very rare for a signed letter to appear at auction, let alone a signed letter with personal annotations with such personally written words of affection to a long standing friend.
The Celebrity Memorabilia Index shows that the value of a Prince Charles autograph has increased by 20% in 2022, so now he is King Charles III it will be interesting to see what this first piece of Charles III memorabilia sells for at auction.