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First view of private photos of the Queen on holiday
Sri Carmichael20 Nov 2008
IT'S a charming, impromptu snapshot of the Queen, showing her as she's never been seen before - wearing a pair of flared trousers.
Smiling broadly under a sun hat and clasping a pair of sunglasses, the Queen looks likes any other holidaymaker as she relaxes on the sands of a tropical beach.
But the Royal Yacht Britannia sitting at anchor behind her gives the game away.
The Queen appears totally relaxed as she soaks up the sun in a rare off-duty moment.
With the flared trousers she wears an Oriental-style jacket for the photograph, believed to have been taken on an overseas tour in the Seventies.
It is one of a series of previously unseen photographs due to be go under the hammer in a royal sale by auctioneers Reeman Dansie in Colchester on Monday.
Auctioneer James Grinter said: "It's an absolutely charming photograph which has captured the Queen in a totally carefree moment. It's being sold by a private collector but, sadly, we don't know exactly where or when it was taken."
A unique album of remarkable photographs of the Queen and Princess Margaret as young girls which have never been seen before is also up for auction.
The black and white snapshots show a young Princess Elizabeth, aged four or five, wearing a white knitted hat and wellington boots playing snowballs and tobogganing with her nanny Margaret MacDonald, who was known as Bobo.
One photograph captures Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret playing on a children's slide and another shows them standing in front of a thatched cottage.
The album belonged to Sidney Cumper, who worked as Queen Mary's footman and page.
It also contains signed photos of the Queen, Queen Mary, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and the Princes Royal.
It is estimated to sell for more than £600.
Reader views (2)
Nice pic of the trousers. The photo is taken from the waist up.
- Ryssee, Boston, MA, USA, 21/11/2008 00:25
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the photos might be private but the money that paid for those pics and the hollidays was public. I hope they don't forget.
- John Span, london, 20/11/2008 20:50
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