A collection of royal memorabilia, including Christmas cards featuring Prince Andrew and thank you notes from the Royal Family, has sold for more than £12,000 at auction – far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of £8,000.
The items were sold at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall, near Derby, on Thursday.
The collection belonged to Alan Maxwell, a photographic adviser from Harrogate who worked at Wallace Heaton Ltd, the official photographic supplier to the Royal Family.
Auction house owner Charles Hanson said: “Buyers from the UK, the USA and Europe competed for these wonderful finds.”
A collection of royal memorabilia, including Christmas cards featuring Prince Andrew and thank you notes from the Royal Family, has sold for more than £12,000 at auction
Hansons
The memorabilia, dating from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, included correspondence from Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales, the Queen Mother, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
Maxwell played a crucial role in managing the Royal Family’s photographic needs, supplying and framing prints and helping them select images for Christmas cards.
As Charles Hanson explained: “Maxwell assisted the Royal Family for decades. He was a man of absolute discretion.”
His work included handling general photo requests, printing and framing Christmas cards during a pre-digital era when film development was essential.
The memorabilia, dating from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, included correspondence from Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales, the Queen Mother, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and the Duke and Duchess of Kent
Hansons
Hanson told the BBC: “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 Maxwell for their photographic needs – and he was a perfectionist.”
Maxwell died 15 years ago, and the collection was discovered by the seller in a box at the bottom of her wardrobe before being brought to the auctioneers this summer.
Among the notable items sold was a signed Christmas card from Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, from 1984, which fetched £1,000 along with accompanying loose images and negatives.
Among the notable items sold was a signed Christmas card from Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, from 1984, which fetched £1,000 along with accompanying loose images and negatives
Hansons
A personal thank you note from Diana to Maxwell demonstrated the close working relationship with the royals.
The note 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 & am only sorry for the trouble we must have caused!”
The collection included informal pictures of Queen Elizabeth II with her dogs, accompanied by a note about prints being “eaten by the puppies”.
Justin Matthews from Hansons said he was “amazed” when the seller first brought the collection to their Penshurst office.
Every lot in the collection found a buyer, achieving a final total of £12,855.
