Late Queen’s ‘print eaten by puppies’ note to photographer sells at auction
A humorous note written by the late Queen to photographer Alan Maxwell was also among the items sold.
Christmas cards and notes sent by Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales have been sold at auction for more than £12,000.
Royal memorabilia sold in the 1970s-1990s collection included a signed Christmas card from Charles and Diana, a personal thank-you note from the princess and a 1993 letter from the then-Prince of Wales that sold for £1,900.
A humorous note written by the late Queen to photographer Alan Maxwell, a specialist at London’s Wallace H Eaton Ltd who were official suppliers to the royal family, telling him her dogs had eaten a picture was also sold.
It read: “Please check the print with the negatives to find out which is missing – eaten by the puppies – ER”.
Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire sold the photographs and notes sent to Mr Maxwell, who helped the royal family choose the images for their Christmas cards for decades.
Mr Maxwell died 15 years ago and the collection was brought to the auctioneer this summer after being discovered in a carboard box.
The note from Diana read: “Dear Mr Maxwell, a very special thank you for coming to our rescue at such short notice!
“I did appreciate enormously the speed in which the photographs arrived here and am only sorry for the trouble we must have caused! Yours most sincerely, Diana.”
The letter from Charles said: “Dear Mr Maxwell, I just wanted to thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into producing possible Christmas cards for me this year.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with what you have achieved from some pretty unpromising material!
“I thought you did wonders in interpreting my ideas of having a card made up of three small pictures, and only narrowly preferred the group version in the end. I only hope it is appreciated by several thousand recipients.
“I am sorry that my ridiculously congested programme meant that you had a fruitless journey to London and that I did not have an opportunity to congratulate you in person, but did want you to know how grateful I am for all you have done on this and other projects.
“What on Earth would I do without you?! Yours sincerely, Charles.”
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “Buyers from the UK, the USA and Europe competed for these wonderful finds.
“Mr Maxwell assisted the royal family for decades. He was a man of absolute discretion.
“As well as managing general photo requests, he printed and framed Christmas cards.
“In a digital age it’s easy to forget people had to send off films to be developed.
“The royal family, among the most-photographed people in the world, relied on Mr Maxwell for their photographic needs, and he was a perfectionist.”
