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Over 200 postcards written to Ms Knollys, many from the Royal Families of Europe, Circa
1900, Sold in our April 2007 sale.
The Knollys family (pronounced Knowles) have been senior courtiers to the British and European Royal families since Elizabethan times. The first Lettice Knollys was born in 1540 and was the first cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth I. She was the granddaughter of the eldest sister of Anne Boleyn and her father was Sir Francis Knollys, Treasurer of the Household to Queen Elizabeth, although it was rumoured that she was actually the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII.
Emma Lettice Violet Knollys, to whom the cards are addressed, was born in 1871, daughter of Colonel William Wallingford Knollys and niece of the 1st Viscount Knollys, private secretary to King Edward VII. Her aunt was Charlotte Knollys, Private Secretary and lady of the bedchamber to Queen Alexandra of England, and her uncle, Sir Henry Knollys was Comptroller and Privy secretary to Princess Maud of Wales, who married Prince Charles of Denmark and became Queen of Norway. Lettice married Surgeon Commander Walter Haydon R.N. in June 1908, after which date the cards are addressed to Mrs Walter Haydon.
This collection of postcards is centred on the family of Prince Ernst August II of Hanover, Princess Thyra of Denmark and their home, Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden. Princess Thyra’s father was King Christian IX of Denmark who was known as “The father in law of Europe” due to his family’s influence throughout the continent. It is important to note that Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia and Queen Alexandra of England were Thyra’s sisters. Several of the cards in the collection are multi signed and we believe that important signatures from members of these families are amongst them. There are twelve cards including a Christmas card signed simply “Empress”, three of which were sent via normal post and mirror written, i.e. they were written backwards as a form of code. There is also a mirror written card from Thyra in a very similar style to “Empress” and, in her personal photograph collection and other records, Queen Alexandra refers to Empress Marie Feodorovna as “My sister the Empress”, indicating that this may have been how she was known amongst the family. One of the cards signed Empress is also signed Olga in tiny writing, Empress Marie had a daughter called Olga and Marie Louise refers to “The Russian Olga” being unable to visit in one of her cards. We have so far been unable to find an exact match for the handwriting of “Empress”.
The majority of the earlier cards in the collection, circa 1898-1902 are addressed to Lettice Knollys at Gmunden and a card dated 1903 from Princess Marie Louise, with whom Lettice appears to have had a particularly close relationship, refers to Lettice’s room being shut down and that it “looks so sad without you”. Lettice was obviously residing at Gmunden for a while and it seems likely that she held a post with the family, possibly a governess or similar to the children. The tone of the cards from the Princes and Princesses of Denmark is extremely intimate, in several cards from Princess Marie Louise she refers to Lettice as “my dear shabbiness”. Several cards relate the activities and travel plans of the family. In another card, Marie Louise relates how they had been out hunting that day and that “ Papa shot 89 animals”.
The collection includes 66 cards signed Marie Louise (Princess Marie Louise Hanover), 6 cards signed Georg Wilhelm (Prince Georg Wilhelm Hanover), 4 cards signed Ernst August (probably Prince Ernst August III, possibly his father Ernst August II), and one card signed Christian (Prince Christian Hanover). Amongst the other highlights of the collection are a photograph which we believe to be of Lettice Knollys on board the royal yacht, on which she has written “ Presented to Empress Marie of Russia aboard HM Yacht Victoria & Albert at Copenhagen Sept 20 1912. Also Queen Alexandra, Duchess of Cumberland, Princess Victoria, Prince Vladimir, Prince…. of Greece”. There are also several important cards showing Royal events, Royal babies, Royal family groups, shooting parties, castles and stately homes across Europe.
There are 10 cards signed Maria Roy which are beautifully hand illustrated with ink drawings of flowers, 5 cards from Gmunden signed AS, 15 cards signed Toppsy, various cards from other members of the Knollys family including several of military interest and over 50 cards whose signatures we have not identified. The collection also includes cards from Commander Haydon
and over two hundred unwritten cards, which have been split into smaller lots. All the signed cards, which total 252, will be sold as one lot in order to preserve the historical interest and significance of the collection.
Sold for £2,200.
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