Unique childhood drawings by King Charles of his parents have sold for tens of thousands of pounds, and the thrilled buyer says they reveal something special to the world.
The crayon and pencil sketches depict the King’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and father, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. The queen wears a striped dress with purple tiara, red earrings and handbag while Prince Philip is shown in dinner suit and bow tie.
Inscribed ‘Mummy’ and ‘Papa’, they were produced by a very young Charles around 1953-55 when he was five or six years old. They were offered by Hansons Auctioneers (June 16, 2023) with a guide price of £5,000-£10,000. After a fierce bidding battle they achieved a hammer price of £46,000. The total paid with buyer’s premium was £59,800.
The buyer, Angus Neill, of Felder Fine Art, London, said: “I am thrilled that I have succeeded in acquiring this highly important pair of portraits.
“The portrait of the Queen is extremely important. The most revered person in the modern age, reproduced billions of times and painted by dozens of celebrated portrait painters, always as the Queen, the longest reigning monarch in history.
“And here we have a portrait of a mother by her first-born child. She is a mummy. A human being. What it reveals to the world is that our new King truly loved his mother. This early drawing is entirely consistent with his public statements shortly after her death. This portrait is unique. Its importance cannot be overestimated.”
They drawings were part of an extraordinary royal memorabilia collection which included 10 early drawings by the King. Together the sketches achieved more than £61,000 and attracted bids from all over the world including Europe, the United States and Africa.
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “This was an extraordinary result for an extraordinary find. The King’s touching childhood drawings sparked a global bidding battle. Many people wanted to own one of these early artworks and some will be travelling abroad.
“However, it’s heart-warming to know the King’s portraits of ‘Mummy’ and ‘Papa’, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, have been purchased by a British buyer who truly appreciates their significance.
“Given a crayon and pencil, nearly every child’s first drawings depict their family. Our King was no different. This collection made news all over the world and helped people relate to him not simply as a monarch but as a human being.”
Another item to touch hearts was a home-made birthday card, produced circa 1953-54, when Charles was five, for his father. It featured a sailing boat and ‘Happy Birthday’ on the front. Inside was the message, ‘Papa with love from Charles’ followed by kisses and circles. It sold for £5,500 from a £1,500-£2,500 estimate.
Other childhood drawings by the King included a sketch of a pair of carmine bee-eater birds, signed ‘Charles’, sold for £1,250 (lot 265); a delivery van in Harrod’s-style livery stating ‘Happybright, Mr Charles’s Shop’, £2,000 (lot 269); a rabbit, £1,250 (lot 267); an owl, deer and squirrels, £1,000 (lot 264) and an Easter card featuring a bunny, £1,200 (lot 271).
The collection also included family photos, Christmas cards and royal letters. The latter included two letters written by Queen Elizabeth II which excelled. Lot 250, written during a royal tour of India in 1961 to her mother, The Queen Mother, and signed ‘Lilibet’, made £16,000 from a guide of £3,000-£5,000.
In addition lot 252, a letter written in 1954 to her husband Prince Philip, achieved £6,000. It deals light-heartedly with the issue of Philip’s new beard, ‘The family is split about the beard, Anne & me want it off, Charles wants it kept for him to see! What will you do?!’ The letter closes warmly, ‘All my love darling from your very loving Lilibet.’
All the items were amassed mostly between the 1950s-1970s by author, journalist and former royal correspondent Henry Ramsay Maule (1915-1981). Maule, from Reading, Berkshire, was the author of several books and worked as British correspondent at the New York Daily News for 21 years specialising in royal stories. He also wrote, under a pseudonym, All The Queen’s Children, an authoritative book about Queen Elizabeth II’s offspring.
He was a friend of royal photographer Marcus Adams and enjoyed a long working friendship with members of the Royal Household. Maule gained Palace approval to write a biography of Price Philip and was in the process of collating information for this with the ‘downstairs’ help of long-standing royal servant Charlie. Sadly, Maule passed away before this could be completed. The items, which were given to him to assist with his work, were inherited by his family on his death in 1981.
Charles said: “The items were given to Henry Maule to support his work in documenting the life of the Royal Family, which included writing All The Queen’s Children. They have remained tucked away for more than 40 years since his death in 1981. The family felt the time had come for others to enjoy them and gain fresh insight into the lives of the British Royal Family.”
The Royal Collection (25 lots) sold in Hansons Auctioneers’ Bloomsday Library Auction at Bishton Hall, Staffordshire, on June 16, 2023. To find out more, email [email protected].
Library Auction Entries Invited
If you are considering selling books or works on paper, please email Jim Spencer, head of the Library Auction and associate director of Hansons: [email protected]
