A letter from Princess Diana – set to be sold at auction later this year – has shown how close Prince Harry and Prince William were as children.
In one correspondence addressed to Violet “Collie” Collison – who was Diana’s parents’ head housekeeper at Park House on the Sandringham Estate – the Princess gushes about her two children.
In the letter, written from Kensington Palace on 25 September 1984, Diana thanks “Collie” for a gift to Harry.
“William adores his little brother and spends the entire time pouring an endless supply of hugs and kisses over Harry,” she wrote.
Ms Collison followed Diana’s mother to London in 1967 after the princess’s parents divorced, and worked for her and her new husband until she retired in 1973.
She died at the age of 89 in 2013.
Ms Collison’s stash of handwritten letters and cards from the Princess of Wales are to be sold at auction by Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, later this year.
Another letter in Ms Collison’s collection is dated 8 July 1981 – three weeks before Diana married the then-Prince Charles.
In it, she wrote that “everyone frantically busy here doing last minute decorations,” while “the bride-to-be has remained quite calm”.
It comes as the Duke of Sussex discussed how his legal battles with the tabloid press have been a “central piece” in his rift from the Royal Family.
Speaking to ITV documentary Tabloids On Trial about what he thinks of the decision by his family not to take on the press in the way he has, Harry said: “I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is.
“For me, the mission continues, but it has, it has, yes. It’s caused, yeah, as you say, part of a rift.”
Read more on Sky News: William believes homelessness ‘can be ended’ Monarchy to get £45m funding boost
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Tap here
According to Sworders’ website, 23 letters and cards from Diana are to be sold as part of the Out of the Ordinary Sale on 30 July.
Sold individually, the letters are estimated to fetch between £200 and £1,200.
Two gowns worn by Princess Diana are expected to fetch up to £315,000 each when they go on sale at auction on Thursday.
The dresses, worn by the late Princess of Wales during the 1980s, are the most highly-valued items in a collection that includes some of her letters, accessories and keepsakes as well as more than 200 items from members of the Royal Family, going under the hammer in Los Angeles.
Julien’s Auctions has called it the most extensive collection of Diana’s personal belongings to be auctioned since she sold dozens of dresses during a New York charity auction in 1997, shortly before she died.
A pair of gowns sold during the New York auction, two months before her death in a car crash in Paris, top the upcoming sale, titled Princess Diana’s Elegance & A Royal Collection, at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.
Designer Murray Arbied made the first, a midnight blue tulle strapless gown that Diana wore twice in 1986 – to the Phantom Of The Opera premiere, to dinner with King Constantine of Greece – and to a Royal Opera House performance of Cinderella the following year.
It has a top estimate of $400,000 (£315,000), as does a magenta silk and lace off-the-shoulder evening dress designed by Victor Edelstein, which Diana wore in London and Germany in 1987.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Tap here
Martin Nolan, co-founder and executive director of Julien’s Auctions, said: “People will know that name because Victor Edelstein also designed the very famous navy blue dress Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985.”
Diana, he said, was a “princess of economics,” wearing gowns numerous times not only for environmental reasons but also to “use her celebrity status to shine a spotlight on up-and-coming or new or unknown designers,” including Edelstein, Caroline Charles, and Catherine Walker – all of whom feature in the auction.
One of Walker’s creations, a pink floral silk shirt dress Diana wore to a 1988 sports day for Prince William and when Prince Harry left school in 1992, has a top estimate of $200,000 (£158,000).
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:22
William the Swiftie
In December a Jacques Azagury-designed dress worn by Diana in Italy in 1985 became the most expensive dress worn by the royal at auction, selling for more than $1m (£790,000).
More than 20 of Diana’s handwritten letters, notes, and holiday cards are also up for grabs in this week’s sale.
The keepsakes show “the kindness and concern that Diana had and also tells us she was truly happily married,” Mr Nolan said.
Read more: William’s Taylor Swift selfie Police investigate allegations Diana’s brother was abused Diana’s legacy ‘still guides’ William
Many of the letters are to Maud Pendrey, a former housekeeper at the Spencer family home at the Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire, where Diana grew up.
Gold-mounted false teeth that Sir Winston Churchill wore as he made his “we shall fight them on the beaches” speech and other famous addresses, have been “snapped up” at auction for £18,000.
The set of six upper teeth were fashioned to preserve Britain’s wartime prime minister’s famous natural lisp.
Dentures were so important to him, he carried two sets with him at all times.
The Cotswold Auction Company, who handled the sale, said the teeth were “snapped up” for £18,000, more than double the £8,000 guide price.
Churchill, who guided Britain through the Second World War after replacing Neville Chamberlain as prime minister in 1940, suffered from dental problems most of his life and lost several teeth during his 20s.
It is believed up to four sets of teeth were made for him, with at least one buried with him, the Guardian said.
The auctioned set was made for him when he was 65 at the beginning of the conflict.
More on Winston Churchill
Director Liz Poole said the teeth were “among the most unusual items” they had ever sold.
“We were absolutely delighted with the international interest in the sale of Churchill’s false teeth and other memorabilia, which included phone bids from collectors in the United States and UK,” she said.
“The story generated global media coverage and featured in the news as far away as Canada, the US and Poland.
“The buyer has snapped up a unique piece of our country’s history.”
Read more: Sir Winston Churchill and British athletes celebrated on coins Ex-journalist fails to follow in Winston’s footsteps
Other lots included a microphone reputedly used by Churchill on VE Day to announce the end of World War Two, which sold for £11,500, plus buyer’s premium.
From this year, Churchill’s image has been on commemorative £2 coins to remember the 150th anniversary of his birth, one of five new designs to appear on UK coins in 2024.
A handwritten lyric sheet penned by David Bowie for two of his “cult favourite” songs could fetch up to £100,000 when it goes under the hammer next week.
The double-sided lyric sheet includes the late music icon’s drafts, notes and corrections from when he created Rock N Roll Suicide and Suffragette City – which both featured on his 1972 classic, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.
The page dates to the final recording sessions of the album and was given to the original owner by the Life On Mars hitmaker at Trident Studio in Soho, central London, along with pages which have not survived.
It will be accompanied by a letter of provenance from the seller, stating that the page was created during the album’s final recording sessions.
The side of the sheet showing the Suffragette City lyrics includes a note at the bottom left to inform the publisher of two more songs Bowie was considering for the album – It Ain’t Easy and Round And Round.
It Ain’t Easy made it on to the 1972 album, while Round And Round, a cover of Chuck Berry’s Around And Around, was selected as a B-side for the UK issue of Drive In-Saturday, released a year later in 1973.
The lyric sheet was purchased by the current owner in the early 1980s and went on loan in 2013 to the V&A Museum for its highly-anticipated David Bowie exhibition – which became its fastest-ever selling event.
It travelled across the globe when the exhibition departed London and journeyed to Toronto, Sao Paolo, Chicago, Paris, Melbourne, Bologna, Tokyo, Barcelona and New York during a five-year international tour.
Stellar showcase of music memorabilia on sale
Bowie, who died from liver cancer on 10 January 2016 aged 69, was crowned Britain’s most influential artist of the past 50 years for his ability to transcend music, film and fashion.
His lyric sheet will be among a stellar showcase of musical memorabilia on sale on Tuesday via Omega Auctions – which previously sold a handwritten lyric sheet for Starman, one of his most famous songs, for more than £200,000.
Other lots include a book previously owned by Oasis guitarist, Noel Gallagher, featuring lyrics for fan favourites including Champagne Supernova, She’s Electric, Rockin’ Chair, Step Out Tonight and Going Nowhere, which is expected to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000.
Read more: Bowie back catalogue sells for ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ Rock photographer reveals music stars archive Michael Jackson 1984 Pepsi ad jacket fetches £250,000 at auction
Gallagher hailed Bowie as “one of the all-time greats”, telling Sky News how the visionary singer inspired him to step out of his comfort zone and “put himself out there”.
A sheet containing The Doors frontman Jim Morrison’s handwritten lyrical musings is also up for auction with an estimated price of £10,000 to £50,000.
Handwritten and signed lyrics by Queen drummer Roger Taylor for the band’s song, Breakthru, are expected to fetch up to £10,000, while a pair of trousers owned and worn by late frontman Freddie Mercury could net £6,000.
The auction also includes signed photographs, posters, albums and setlists by a variety of well-known artists.
Bowie’s lyric sheet has been described as “an incredible artefact” by auction manager, Dan Muscatelli-Hampson.
“There are two real cult favourites in the wonderful David Bowie oeuvre and Suffragette City has been described as one of his very best,” he said.
“It is an incredible artefact to have and to hold and it is sure to excite the many millions of Bowie fans around the world, just as the Starman lyrics did.
“We are excited to see what it might achieve on the day.”
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
A toy robot left in a loft for decades and which was about to be given to a charity shop could fetch up to £10,000 at auction after being identified as a “ground-breaking” Japanese rarity.
Lee Garrett said she and her brother “couldn’t believe our ears” when they were told the Radicon robot toy’s valuation.
Experts said it was “the grandfather of tin plate robots and space toys generally” and the “rare find” was expected to generate a lot of interest “at home and overseas” when it goes under the hammer.
Ms Garrett, of Edinburgh, said the anticipated proceeds from the auction will be “split between” the family.
She was cleaning her mother’s house when she found the robot she and her siblings played with as children more than 50 years ago.
Ms Garrett said: “When we were clearing my mum’s house prior to her move to Edinburgh, we piled up a load of toys and other bits and pieces to give to the charity shop.
“The robot had been in the loft for decades and it was only when my brother said he had seen a similar toy online that we decided to take it out of the charity box and look into it a bit more.
“We were hoping the robot may be worth a few pounds but when we heard what it was, and the valuation, we couldn’t believe our ears.
“We asked mum what she wanted to do with it and she said that it should be sold and the proceeds split between her five children.
“I would like to think that the lucky new owner may get as much fun playing with the robot as we did when we were kids, although I have a feeling it may be kept well out of reach of sticky fingers.”
The robot was produced in 1957 by Japanese toymaker Masudaya.
Read more on Sky News: Happy birthday to the first mobile phone call God Of War Ragnarok sweeps games awards
A member of the “Gang of Five” robots that were only available by special purchase in the late 1950s, it was first in the set to be produced, giving it heightened status.
The robot will headline McTear’s Antiques & Interiors auction in Glasgow on 7 April.
McTear’s specialist, James Spiridion, said: “Simply put, the Masudaya Radicon is the grandfather of tin plate robots and space toys generally.
“Very few of these fascinating toys have ever come to auction and to find one complete with box and controller is a rare find indeed.
“First edition toys, particularly ground-breaking pieces like this, are becoming more and more collectable and I am sure there will be a lot of interest from collectors at home and overseas when it goes under the hammer.
“The robot retains both its striking controller – complete with two of the original coloured antennae – and, most importantly, the box, with its fabulous artwork evoking the sense of awe and wonder that sci-fi brought in the 1950s.”
A piece of paper with the lyrics of Wonderwall handwritten by Noel Gallagher has fetched £46,875 at auction.
The page is believed to have been written sometime in the mid-2000s to help Gallagher, lead guitarist for the band, during rehearsals.
They were kept afterwards by the band’s road crew.
The song appeared on the 1995 album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and became one of the band’s most successful and best-known.
The estimate for the piece had been between £4,000 and £6,000.
Gallagher and his brother Liam formed Oasis in 1991 but the band split in 2009 and the two siblings have had an icy relationship since.
Also sold on Friday was Noel Gallagher’s 1962 Epiphone Casino Guitar, which he bought after advice from The Jam’s Paul Weller.
It sold for £56,250.
The guitar was used to record Oasis’s third album Be Here Now, and demos for their fourth album Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants.
The two items were featured in one of the biggest collections of Oasis memorabilia to be auctioned in the UK, according to Propstore.
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
A leather jacket worn by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash during the music video for the song Paradise City was sold for £34,375, and an autographed ticket for a Beatles concert sold for £12,500.
David Bowie’s spacesuit which he wore for the 1980 music video Ashes To Ashes, Whitney Houston’s Queen Of The Night costume worn in the film The Bodyguard, and a signed gun licence application from Elvis Presley are also being auctioned.
Other pieces among the 1,500 lots are from Michael Jackson, the Sex Pistols, Blur, Rihanna, and the Spice Girls.
The auction at the Bafta headquarters in Piccadilly, London, opened on 3 November and runs until 6 November.