ENGLAND
Late royal page’s items sell well at auction
LONDON (AP) — Collectors paid thousands of dollars Saturday for letters from British royalty to a trusted servant, including a note from the late Queen Mother Elizabeth asking the aide to pack bottles of gin and Dubonnet for an outing, “in case it is needed.”
The note, expected to draw $600, sold for $32,000 at an auction of mementos belonging to royal servant William Tallon.
Tallon, nicknamed “Backstairs Billy” by the press, joined the royal household at age 15 and served the family for 51 years, rising to become the queen mother’s steward and Page of the Backstairs. He died in November, aged 72.
His vast collection of royal memorabilia includes photographs, paintings, gifts, letters and Christmas cards, and gives an insight into the informal side of life in the royal family.
A 1982 letter from Princess Diana telling Tallon about the birth of her first child, Prince William, sold for $10,000. “We are not sure at the moment what has hit us, except a very strong pair of lungs!” the princess wrote.
