A sweet letter written by a young King Charles to his grandmother has been auctioned off after it was discovered by a stunned couple in their own home.
Correspondence from the future monarch to The Queen Mother, who was then 54, was unearthed in a dusty loft by a stunned couple and was dated March 15, 1955 - when Charles was just six-years-old.
It read: "Dear Granny, I am sorry that you are ill. I hope you will be better soon." The flip side of the page reads: "Lots of love from Charles."
His neat handwriting is accompanied by a mixture of colourful childlike doodle art and kisses.
The unique royal letter was offered with a guide price of £2,000-£3,000 in Hansons Auctioneers' Library Auction on Tuesday.
But a bidding battle saw the hammer eventually fall at £7,000 for the item, which formed part of the Stockdale collection that fetched more than £9,000 in total.
The extraordinary find was made during a clear-out by a couple who live near Stratford, Warwickshire, and had no idea the letter existed.
It had come into the family's possession through the husband's late grandfather Roland Stockdale, who was part of the Queen’s personal protection force during the 1950s.
He came into the role through his time at the Metropolitan Police, where he had got a job after leaving behind life as a farm worker in Carlisle.
The seller, a 49-year-old farm manager, told Coventry Live: "We finally had the time to look through a big box file that my mother had given to us. It originally belonged to my late grandad Roland Stockdale.
"It contained lots of royal memorabilia, including a letter from Prince Charles to his grandmother. My wife said ‘wow, look at that!’ We were pretty gobsmacked, but we weren’t sure whether anyone would be interested in it.
"My grandad passed away in his 70s in 1983 and the folder was inherited by my dad, who subsequently passed it to my mum over 10 years ago. She never had a chance to look through it and gave it to my wife and I.
"Finally, at Christmas, we had a bit of time to look through grandad’s folder. For the last 30 to 40 years it’s been gathering dust inside various lofts.
"The file includes pictures of him in the Information Room in Scotland Yard in 1952. I was told he was originally involved in helping to protect the Queen Mother but he probably worked with several royals over time."
As well as proud photographs of Roland in police uniform, a copy of the Queen’s 1956 Christmas broadcast speech was also found in the file, which sold for £300 at auction.
Three small gift tags signed by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, circa 1960, meanwhile achieved £1,250.
A note card signed by the Queen Mother made £150, two Backstairs Billy letters sold for £50 and an archive of police and royal memorabilia achieved £320.
The entire collection sold for more than £9,000, which was twice its overall estimate.
Charles Hanson, the owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said he was "not at all surprised" by the strong demand for the royal items.
Contrasting the young then-Prince Charles' clear respect for his grandmother with recent fallings out within The Firm, he said: "Amid recent Royal Family rifts it was lovely to see a simple demonstration of affection sent from a boy to his granny."
He went on to say Mr Stockdale was "clearly a devoted royal servant" who "treasured any snippet of royal memorabilia offered to him".
