The Queen has sent many letters during her 70-year reign. One of these private letters will be sold this Saturday in Leinfelden-Echterdingen.
A Stuttgart auction house is auctioning off a handwritten letter from Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) on Saturday. The monarch, who died in September, sent the two-page letter to a passionate rider in 1966, according to the auction house in Leinfelden-Echterdingen.
The addressee was a horse lover – like the Queen
According to the auction house, the Queen had written the letter herself and signed “Elizabeth R”, addressed to a London luxury hotel where the recipient resided at the time. The addressee Etti Plesch, née Maria Gräfin von Wurmbrand-Stuppach (1914-2003), was at the time married to a wealthy Hungarian lawyer. She shared a love of equestrian sport with the Queen. Animals from Plesch’s stable won the Epsom Derby twice, which was considered the most prestigious race in England.
This is how the Queen’s letter came to Baden-Württemberg
The Queen wrote to “dear Mrs. Plesch” that she was “delighted with the pretty photo of the Sandringhamer horses which I received from you and Mr. Plesch for Christmas”. The then 40-year-old closed her letter of thanks with the insight that patience is perhaps the most important virtue in horse breeding – and a bit of luck.
Plesch actually lived in Monaco, but because of its proximity to the horse racing track in Iffezheim, she owned an apartment in Baden-Baden – so the letter probably came to Baden-Württemberg. After her death, an employee contacted the auction house with the letter.
Cornelia Juchert, a fan of the royal family from Eislingen, has been sending letters to Buckingham Palace in London since 1986. So far she has always received an answer. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, she sent a condolence card. More on this in the TV report from September 19, 2022:
Cornelia Juchert has been sending letters from Eislingen to Buckingham Palace in London since 1986. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, she has now sent a condolence card.
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Stuttgart auction house wants to auction other objects
Ferdinand Benedikt Eppli from the auction house of the same name is considering two different groups as possible buyers. “There are lovers who are looking for postal items with an interesting story or from prominent senders,” he told the German Press Agency before the auction. “And then there are the fans of the British royal family.” The letter is to be called at a starting price of 2,600 euros.
It’s not the only royal document offered on Saturday. In addition to the Queen’s letter, a letter from Buckingham Palace from Lady Di’s office could also change hands. In it, one of her oldest ladies-in-waiting thanks her for a high-quality knit sweater made for Princess Diana. Following her state visit to Vienna, this was made as a one-off by a local knitting factory and presented as a gift.