A letter sent by King Charles when he was a young boy to his grandmother has been found in a loft in Warwickshire. The letter was sent to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on March 15, 1955.
It contains doodles by Charles, who was six years old at the time. It is also written on Buckingham Palace headed paper.
It reads: “Dear Granny, I am sorry that you are ill. I hope you will be better soon. Lots of love from Charles.”
The letter was found by a farm manager when he decided to clear out the loft of his home in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was found in a box with several other pieces of royal memorabilia.
The 49-year-old farm manager who found the letter said: “We finally had the time to look through a big box file that my mother had given to us. It originally belonged to my late grandad, Roland Stockdale.
“It contained lots of royal memorabilia, including a letter from Prince Charles to his grandmother. My wife said ‘wow, look at that’. We were pretty gobsmacked but we weren’t sure whether anyone would be interested in it.”
Mr Stockdale was a farm worker from Carlisle before he moved to London. He joined the Metropolitan Police and went on to work for the Queen's personal protection force in the 1950s. He is thought to have worked under several royals. He died in his 70s in 1983.
His son inherited a folder of royal memorabilia and letters. These were then given to his wife more than 10 years ago. It was then given to the current owner and his wife, who only looked in the box for the first time over Christmas.
Along with the letter, there is also correspondence between Mr Stockdale and William Tallon, who was known as Backstairs Billy, the Queen Mother's servant. A postcard sent in 1983 from Sandringham and a letter to Mr Stockdale's wife offering condolences after his death, written on Clarence House headed paper, were also found.
A booklet was also found titled The Words Of Her Majesty The Queen, Christmas Day Nineteen Hundred And Fifty-Six. The book is a copy of the Queen's 1956 Christmas broadcast.
Hanson Auctioneers will sell the items on March 7. They are expected to fetch around £4,000.
The letter from King Charles has an estimate of £2,000 – £3,000. The Queen’s Christmas Day speech has a guide price of between £100 and £200.
The seller said: “My grandad was a man of few words and never really spoke about his time working with the royal family but he was clearly well thought of. I have absolutely no idea how he came to have the letter written by King Charles when he was a boy.
“It’s one of many things he kept. The file includes royal menus, an invitation to a dance at Balmoral Castle for his wife Audrey Stockdale, a note signed by the Queen Mother and a George VI Memorial Westminster booklet from October 21, 1955.”
