Letter from Queen Mother asking her servant to 'pack some gin' is sold for £16,000

13 April 2012

A letter from the Queen Mother instructing one of her servants to pack some Dubonnet and gin, "in case it is needed", has been sold for £16,000.

The personal note written to William Tallon - affectionately known as Backstairs Billy for his role as Page of the Backstairs - went under the hammer along with hundreds of other mementoes from the monarchy.

A total of 644 items of royal memorabilia collected by Billy were up for auction in the unlikely setting of an industrial estate in Colchester, Essex.

The auction was being held following Mr Tallon's death last November.

This letter from the Queen Mother requesting Dubonnet and gin fetched £16,000 at auction

This letter from the Queen Mother requesting Dubonnet and gin fetched £16,000 at auction

Many of the items listed early in the sale, including Christmas cards from the Queen Mother to Mr Tallon, were snapped up by bidders in a packed auction room at about £60 each.

But when it came to the most sought after pieces, they could not compete with those following proceedings via the internet or telephone.

The most frenzied bidding in the early part of the sale, set to run until about 6pm, centred around the fascinating hand-written note from the Queen Mother to Mr Tallon.

It listed instructions including: 'I think that I will take two small bottles of Dubonnet and gin with me this morning, in case it is needed.'

One of the photographs of William Tallon (right) with Prince Charles and the Queen Mother from his personal collection

One of the photographs of William Tallon (right) with Prince Charles and the Queen Mother from his personal collection

The note continued: 'It is a beautiful day, could we have lunch under the tree - one could have fourteen at the table and four at a small table.'

Bidding for the letter, which had been expected to fetch £200 to £300, started at £1,100, drawing gasps from the audience.

But by the time telephone bidding war had reached £16,000, spontaneous applause broke out.

Just before closing the bidding, the auctioneer jokingly asked the room if there were any more bids, saying: 'It's only money.'

With his bouffant hair and high camp manner, Tallon was the Queen Mother's favourite servant, officially the Steward and Page of the Backstairs.

He joined the Royal Household in 1951, aged 15, and over the following 51 years of service worked his way up to become the Queen Mother's Steward and the Page of the Backstairs.

The royal aide and his lifelong partner Reginald Wilcock, who was the under butler, were devoted to the senior royal who had a special affection for them.

Five years after the Queen Mother's death, Backstairs Billy died from an AIDS-related illness. Royal figures were among the 200 mourners at his funeral in the Queen's Chapel at St. James's Palace.

Billy died with his discretion intact, but, according to friends, hoping the marvellous things he collected over half a century would say more about the Royal Family than any Paul Burrell-style exposé.

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