24 November 2023 , 11:57
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A remarkable collection of Royal Christmas cards covering almost every year between 1953 to 1989 are about to go on sale.
The charming festive greetings show the changing face of three generations of the family over four decades. King Charles was five-years-old in the earliest card with Princes William and Harry in the later one, and they all "exemplify the Queen's focus on her young family".
There are sweet images of Charles with Princess Anne as children in the 1950s and Princes Andrew and Edward in the 1960s and early '70s. The 1960 Christmas card shows the family on the front lawn at Balmoral with baby Andrew, while baby Edward appears in a pram in 1964 with the family huddled around it.
The cards were kept by Sir Philip John Row, who was once the Queen's Deputy Treasurer (Woolley&Wallis/BNPS)The 1978 card features Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip by a fireplace, with the 1981 card showing the newlyweds Charles and Princess Diana. The cards were kept by Commander Sir Philip John Row, who was Deputy Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth II between 1958 and 1968 and then appointed Extra Equerry to the Queen Mother in 1969.
They are now being sold alongside his impressive group of medals, coins and ephemera for an estimated £15,000 at auctioneers Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury. Mr Row joined the Royal Navy in 1922. In the Second World War he served on HMS Kent on the Arctic Convoys.
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This colourful 1972 card wasn't perfect with Prince Andrew's eyes closed (Woolley&Wallis/BNPS)He was also on board Kent for Operation Mascot - one of the many attempts to destroy the German battleship Tirpitz. His 20 medals include the Royal Victoria Order, Knight Commander's Neck Badge and Star, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and France's Legion d'Honneur.
Ned Cowell, militaria specialist at Woolley & Wallis, said: "His collection of Royal Christmas cards from 1953 to 1989 provide a fascinating record of the first half of Queen Elizabeth's long reign. It is interesting to look at the cards and see how the photos chosen evolve over the near 40 year period.
The collection is being sold next week alongside his impressive group of medals and coins (Woolley&Wallis/BNPS)"The early photos exemplify the Queen's focus on her young family and it is fascinating to watch them grow up and become the characters we ourselves grew up with. The style also changes from the more formal, posed photographs of the 1950s to the relaxed manner adopted during the 1980s.
"What is special about this collection is that it comes from someone who was senior in the Royal Household early on during the Queen's reign so it starts from her first year on the throne." Row worked on the Royal Yacht and rose to Paymaster Commander.
He followed in his father's footsteps, who was Paymaster Rear Admiral and Secretary of the King's Privy Purse. The sale takes place on November 28.