Touching childhood drawings by King Charles III of his parents in grand attire have been discovered in a major collection of royal memorabilia.
The crayon and pencil portraits depict his 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.
The poignant sketches, inscribed ‘Mummy’ and ‘Papa’, were produced by a very young Charles around 1953-55 when he was five or six years old.
They are part of an ‘extraordinary royal memorabilia collection’ which includes 10 early drawings by the King plus royal letters, family photos, Christmas cards and a 1937 Buckingham Palace manuscript menu diary. All 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.
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Other early drawings by King Charles include a pair of carmine bee-eater birds, signed ‘Charles’, £2,000-£4,000 (lot 265); a delivery van in Harrod’s-style livery stating ‘Happybright, Mr Charles’s Shop’, £2,000-£3,000 (lot 269); a rabbit, circa 1953-1955, £1,000-£1,500 (lot 267); an owl, deer and squirrels, £2,000-£3,000 (lot 264) and an Easter card featuring a bunny, £1,000-£2,000 (lot 271).
Another touching item is a cartoon illustration, circa 1954-56, by Charles for his father. It depicts a master sailor receiving a tot of ‘Hair Restorer’ from an urn labelled ‘Lilac Flavour’, together with a note, dated March 25, 1954: ‘Dear Papa, I am longing to see you in the ship, Love from Charles’.
Handmade cards by a very young Princess Anne for her father, featuring a yacht, house and balloons, are also set for auction £300-£600 (lot 254) along with spontaneous and candid photos depicting members of the Royal Family at leisure.
One set of images, circa 1957-61, includes a young King Charles, Princess Anne, the late Princess Margaret, the late King George VI, and the late Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mother, £400-£500 (lot 230).
A photo of a young and jubilant Queen Elizabeth II, c. 1955, housed in a gate-fold card, has also been uncovered along with a similar mounted image of Princess Margaret and two black and white photos of Queen Elizabeth II on either a royal yacht or aircraft, candidly taken in subdued lighting, £150-£200 (lot 238).
More images set for auction show Prince Philip (1921-2021) from childhood through to adult life, including photos of him playing with a kitten, £400-£500 (lot 240).
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “This is an extraordinarily touching collection. These poignant childhood drawings and emotive photos remind us that away from the pomp, pageantry and demands of serving the nation, our royals treasure the ordinary, every-day moments of family life.
“Given a crayon and pencil, nearly every child’s first drawings depict their family. Our King was no different. This collection will help people relate to him even more in his role as our monarch.
“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 30 years since his death in 1981.
“The time has now come for others to enjoy them and gain fresh insight into the lives of the British Royal Family.”
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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