Queen Elizabeth II's 'get-well-soon' letter sold at auction

LONDON: A get-well-soon letter written by Queen Elizabeth II as an 11-year-old girl was sold for $2,200 at an auction on Thursday - double its original asking price.

The letter from the then-princess Elizabeth to a second cousin, Lady Mary Cambridge, had been expected to sell for between 500 and 600 pounds at London auction house Spink.

An unnamed private collector snapped up the letter, which was written on January 7, 1938 on headed notepaper from the royal family's Sandringham country residence in Norfolk, eastern England.

The young princess wrote: "I am so sorry that you have had to go to bed and were not able to go to the party."

She then gave details of her riding adventures before signing off with her familiar name, 'Lilibet'.

A Spink spokesman said the letter was the highlight of their sale, adding: "It was shocking how much it went for. It is a very special letter written by the queen as a child.

"It is a nice piece of memorabilia from the royal family."

The sale price included the buyers' premium.