LONDON - Collectors have paid large sums for letters from members of the British royal family, including a note from the late Queen Mother Elizabeth telling a servant to pack bottles of gin and Dubonnet for an outing.
The note sold for 16,000 pounds (US$32,000) at an auction of mementoes belonging to royal servant William Tallon.
Tallon served the royal family for 51 years. He died in November.
The queen mother's letter to Tallon had been expected to sell for about 300 pounds (US$600).
In it, she requested lunch outdoors and said she wanted to take along the gin and Dubonnet, "in case it is needed."
A 1982 letter from Princess Diana telling Tallon about the birth of Prince William sold for 5,000 pounds (US$10,000) at today's auction.
