One’s family album: Rare glimpse into the late Queen’s private life with her family from 1953 to 1989 is revealed as collection of Christmas cards goes up for auction
A remarkable collection of royal Christmas cards has appeared for sale, covering almost every year between 1953 and 1989.
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 Additional Equestrian to the Queen Mother in 1969.
They will now be sold on November 28, along with his impressive group of medals, coins and ephemera for an estimated £15,000 at auction house Woolley & Wallis, of Salisbury, Wiltshire.
The charming series of festive greetings shows the changing face of three generations of the Royals family over four decades.
King Charles was five years old on the first card and father of Princes William and Harry on a later card.
A remarkable collection of royal Christmas cards has appeared for sale covering almost every year between 1953 and 1989 (photo: The Queen and Philip with a young Anne, Charles and Corgis in 1957)
There are sweet images of Charles with Princess Anne as children in the 1950s and Princes Andrew and Edward in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The 1960 Christmas card shows the family on the front lawn of Balmoral with baby Andrew, while in 1964 baby Edward appears in a pram with the family huddled around it.
The 1978 card shows Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip by a fireplace, while the 1981 card shows newlyweds Charles and Princess Diana.
Sir Philip John Row joined the Royal Navy in 1922 and served in the Arctic Convoys on HMS Kent in the Second World War.
He was also aboard Kent for Operation Mascot – one of several 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 the French Legion d’Honneur.
Ned Cowell, militaria specialist at Woolley & Wallis, said: ‘His collection of royal Christmas cards from 1953 to 1989 provides a fascinating account of the first half of Queen Elizabeth’s long reign.
‘It is interesting to look at the cards and see how the chosen photos develop over almost forty years.
Pictured: The Royal Family together, (from left) Princess Anne, Prince Edward, the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Philip
One card featured Edward, the Queen, Philip, Anne and a bearded Prince Andrew. It also features a young Peter Phillips and his sister Zara. The 1983 Christmas card photo was taken on board the royal yacht ‘Britannia’
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 Additional Equestrian to the Queen Mother in 1969.
The Queen and Philip with a young Anne and Charles on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in the 1954 Christmas card
This 1981 card depicts Charles and Diana on their wedding day in 1981. The Queen and Prince Philip are depicted on either side of the happy couple
The Queen and Prince Philip with a young Anne and Charles on the 1956 Christmas card
Prince Charles was missing from the colorful Christmas card from 1973. He was 24 years old and served in the Royal Navy
The Queen, who wore a bright yellow dress, dressed Edward in shorts for the 1971 card
The Queen was pictured next to the Queen Mother holding Princess Beatrice, Prince Andrew’s eldest daughter, in the 1988 Christmas card
The colorful card from 1972 is reminiscent of the 1970s and Prince Andrew has his eyes closed
The card from 1982, the year the Falklands War ended, depicted Prince Andrew, who was famous during the war
The charming series of festive greetings shows the changing face of three generations of Royals over four decades
They will now be sold on November 28, along with his impressive group of medals, coins and ephemera for an estimated £15,000 at auction house Woolley & Wallis, of Salisbury, Wiltshire.
‘The early photographs illustrate the Queen’s focus on her young family and it is fascinating to watch them grow and become the characters we ourselves grew up with.
‘The style also changes from the more formal, posed photos of the 1950s to the relaxed way of photographing in the 1980s.
‘What is special about this collection is that it comes from someone who was a senior in the Royal House early in the Queen’s reign, so from her first year on the throne.’
Row worked on the royal yacht and rose to become paymaster commander.
He followed in the footsteps of his father, who was Paymaster Admiral and Secretary of the King’s Privy Purse.