Christmas gift tags signed by the Queen and other members of the royal family have gone under the hammer in an auction in London. A total of 19 tags were sold by Tooting-based auction house Brian Reeve Auctions and fetched a grand total of £4,478, HELLO! Online has learnt.
The items were sold as separate lots and snapped up by roughly five different buyers.
The festive tags give an insight into the royal family's private life and how they exchanged gifts during the Christmas period.
© Photo: RexGift tags signed by the Queen and other senior royals have sold for £4,478
The Queen signed her tags "Mummy" to her four children Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, while using her nickname "Lilibet" for other relatives.
One card had the phrase "Andrew with love from Mummy" written on it, while another gift tag for Anne featured a sweet drawing of an elf.
Her Majesty signed her cards from "Mummy" for her four children © Brian Reeve
Her Majesty signed her name Lilibet on two gift tags, one for Viscount Linley, the chairman of Christie's, and the second for Nicholas, thought to refer to the Duke and Duchess of Kent's son Lord Nicholas Windsor.
Lilibet was the name given to the Queen from a young age by her father King George VI.
Lilibet was the nickname given to the Queen by her father George VI © Brian Reeve
The Queen's husband Prince Philip seems to have given a joint present for his two youngest sons one Christmas, as one card read: "Andrew + Edward for a bouncing Christmas from Papa".
The late Queen Mother, who passed away in 2002, also wrote a sweet message to Prince Andrew on a card embossed with the royal coat of arms. "Darling Andrew with loving Christmas wishes from Granny," it read.
Prince Philip wished his two youngest sons Princes Andrew and Edward a "bouncing Christmas" © Brian Reeve
Prince Charles' gift tag for Princess Alexandra – the youngest granddaughter of King George V – and her late husband Angus Ogilvy was signed "Alexandra + Angus, with all love for a very happy, inebriated Christmas from Charles".
It is thought that the collection of gift tags were collected by a former royal bodyguard, who passed the stationery on to his son-in-law, refusing to sell them himself and make a profit during his lifetime.
