ELIZABETH II: (1926-2022)

ELIZABETH II: (1926-2022) Queen of the United Kingdom 1952-2022. A.L.S., Elizabeth, as Princess, two pages, 8vo, London, 12th April 1949, to Peter Stewart, on the printed stationery of Buckingham Palace. The future Queen informs her correspondent ´The verdict on the candle shades and holders is that they are now very good, and it would be quite all right to go ahead with altering the others similarly´, and also thanks him for all the trouble he has taken, further writing ´I was so pleased to meet Crista for the first time - she is very like her mother, isn´t she? Her step-daughter (whom she introduced to me as "the" step-daughter, and whom I didn´t even know existed!) seemed a charming girl and attractive, too´. Accompanied by the original envelope hand addressed by the Princess to Stewart at the Carlton Club and signed (´E´) by her with her initial to the lower left corner. Together with an A.L.S. by Stewart, being his retained copy of reply, two pages, 4to, St. James´s Street, London, 13th April 1949, to Princess Elizabeth (´Madam´), stating that he is pleased that the verdict on the candle holders is favourable (´If we had not got them right I should always have cherished a grudge against the miserable manufacturer!´) and further writing ´Infanta Crista, who certainly is exactly like her mother, actually has three step-children - a rather dull boy now in London and another girl besides "the" one. She has four girls of her own, one of whom is a tremendous "fan" of your Royal Highness and for whom I had to buy up all the photographs and postcards I could find. I think she is about 6 and must be one of your Royal Highness´s youngest, though evidently most ardent Italian admirers´ before concluding by wishing the Princess a Happy Easter. VG, 2

Peter Stewart served as Secretary of the Carlton Club and was a trusted friend and confidant of the British Royal Family, enjoying particularly close relations with King George VI, Queen Mary, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. A frequent visitor to Clarence House, Stewart discreetly assisted members of the Royal Family with the selection and acquisition of presents and furnishings, as reflected in the present correspondence.

Infanta María Cristina of Spain (1911-1996), familiarly known as ‘Crista’, was the daughter of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain and a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1940 she married the Italian industrialist Enrico Marone-Cinzano, 1st Count Marone-Cinzano, who had three children from his first marriage; the couple themselves had four daughters.