Diana's 'special thank you note' to photographer who helped her with Christmas cards

Christmas cards and personal notes penned by Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales, have fetched over £12,000 at an auction. The collection, dating from the 1970s to the 1990s, included a signed Christmas card from Charles and Diana, a heartfelt thank-you note from the princess, and a letter from the then-Prince of Wales that alone sold for £1,900.

A quirky note from the late Queen to photographer Alan Maxwell, who worked for Wallace H Eaton Ltd, official suppliers to the Royal Family, was also among the items sold. The note humorously informed Mr Maxwell that her dogs had devoured one of the pictures, stating: "Please check the print with the negatives to find out which is missing – eaten by the puppies – ER".

Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire handled the sale of the photographs and notes sent to Mr Maxwell, who had been selecting images for the Royal Family's Christmas cards for many years. After Mr Maxwell passed away 15 years ago, the collection was recently found in a cardboard box and brought to the auctioneer this summer.

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Diana's note expressed gratitude: "Dear Mr Maxwell, a very special thank you for coming to our rescue at such short notice! " and continued, "I did appreciate enormously the speed in which the photographs arrived here and am only sorry for the trouble we must have caused! Yours most sincerely, Diana."

Meanwhile, Charles's letter conveyed his thanks: "Dear Mr Maxwell, I just wanted to thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into producing possible Christmas cards for me this year."

"I couldn’t be more pleased with what you have achieved from some pretty unpromising material! " "I thought you did wonders in interpreting my ideas of having a card made up of three small pictures, and only narrowly preferred the group version in the end. I only hope it is appreciated by several thousand recipients."

"I am sorry that my ridiculously congested programme meant that you had a fruitless journey to London and that I did not have an opportunity to congratulate you in person, but did want you to know how grateful I am for all you have done on this and other projects."

"What on Earth would I do without you? ! Yours sincerely, Charles."

Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: "Buyers from the UK, the USA and Europe

competed for these wonderful finds."

"Mr Maxwell assisted the royal family for decades. He was a man of absolute discretion."

"As well as managing general photo requests, he printed and framed Christmas cards."

"In a digital age it’s easy to forget people had to send off films to be developed."

"The Royal family, among the most-photographed people in the world, relied on Mr Maxwell for their photographic needs, and he was a perfectionist."