Queen Elizabeth Childhood Letter With Horse Doodles Sells For £25,000 After Surprise Discovery

A childhood letter from Queen Elizabeth II, decorated with sketches of horses, dogs and children, has sold for £25,000 after an archive containing it was rediscovered in 2024. The price at Hansons Auctioneers was more than six times its £4,000 estimate.

Written when Elizabeth was a young princess, the one-page note combines a message to a royal household worker with details about animals and flowers.

The letter went under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers' Penshurst saleroom in Kent. Charles Hanson described the response to the sale as 'wild'. The auction house had placed a £4,000 estimate on the item before bidding began.

Then Princess Elizabeth wrote the note while staying at Praa Sands in Cornwall, probably between 1936 and 1940. The precise date is unknown, meaning she may have been between 10 and 14. It was addressed to Beatrice Stillman, head housemaid at Royal Lodge in Windsor.

In it, the young princess asked whether the birds were well and whether the goldfish had survived, offering a glimpse of the household and its animals.

How the Letter Captures Princess Elizabeth's Childhood

The note also refers to primroses she had picked during the holiday, which she asked Stillman to distribute among staff at Royal Lodge.

The page is illustrated with sketches of horses and highwaymen, as well as a dog named Jim, a girl called Mary and a boy on a pony jumping a five-bar gate. These details sit alongside the personal message, rather than an official record or public statement.

Justin Matthews of Hansons Auctioneers said the letter reflected qualities associated with the late Queen throughout her life.

'When I first saw the letter, it gave me goosebumps. Queen Elizabeth II, as we remember her, with her love of dogs and horses, is astoundingly evident in this letter penned by her younger self,' he said.

Stillman joined the royal household in 1936, when Elizabeth was 10. In 1940, the princess moved to Windsor Castle for safety during the Second World War. Those dates provide a broad timeframe for the note, although they do not establish when it was written.

Rediscovered Archive Includes a Note From Princess Margaret

The letter belonged to a wider collection of correspondence connected to Stillman. The archive also includes a note from Princess Margaret asking Stillman to look after her bathing suit. The papers remained in Stillman's family for decades and were rediscovered by William Westacott in 2024.

Westacott, who owns the archive, said seeing the letters in person was a 'wow' moment, after years of knowing they existed. He also shared family memories, including those of his aunt Rene, who recalled meeting King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, later known as the Queen Mother, and the young princesses at Royal Lodge.

Matthews described the collection as an important historical document, saying it offered insight into Elizabeth before she became Queen. The note records a holiday, a request about flowers and questions about pets, as well as names and drawings connected to people and animals in the royal household.

The archive brings together personal notes from both princesses and recollections of the household in which they were written.