Lot 29
ROYALTY - JUVENALIA Collection of nearly forty drawings and watercolours by the children of Edward VII; and associated material, [c.1875-1878]
Ending from 19 November 2025, 12:00 GMT
Online, London, Knightsbridge£5,000 - £10,000
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ROYALTY - JUVENALIA
Collection of nearly forty drawings and watercolours by the young Louise, Princess Royal (1867-1931), Princess Victoria (1868-1935), Princess Maud (1869-1938) and Prince Albert Victor (1864-1892), children of Edward VII, presented to their nurse Jeannie Mackay (1848-1925), many inscribed to her ("my dear Jennie"), comprising:
Sixteen drawings by Louise, Princess Royal, subjects including a man walking a dog; figures playing badminton; soldiers with drums, a steamboat and a garden; houses and gardens showing gardeners and a man shooting a bird; three flower studies and another of a vase of flowers; five by Princess Victoria, including lines of soldiers and strange beasts; houses and gardens with figures and a man on a horse; one by Prince Albert Victor ("Eddy") of a guardsman and cavalier by a tree; six by Maude of houses amidst trees, soldiers and gardens; plus three others, 31 drawings in all, pencil, ink, crayon and watercolour, window mounted for display, 230 x 185mm. and smaller), drawn on headed paper from Abergeldie Castle, Sandringham, Chiswick House, Marlborough House, Horstead Hall, [1875-1878 where dated]; with a small group of 8 loose drawings, Louise (lily of the valley, undated), Victoria (flower, 1878), Maude (ivy, undated) and possibly Eddy (soldiers, flags);
ii) Papers retained by Jeannie Mackay, including a portrait photograph of three princesses as adults signed ("Alexandra", "Louise Prss Royal", "Maud"); group of 11 portrait photographic prints and carte de visite of Edward, Duke of Windsor as a child (two with his mother Queen Alexandra by W & D Downey of London, others by Ralph of Dersingham, Norfolk), as an adult in uniform (by Hugh Cecil, London), and other family members; with c.20 empty envelopes, some addressed to her at Sandringham, one containing a lock of hair (unidentified), two telegrams from Stamfordham on behalf of the King thanking her for sending congratulations, 15 Christmas cards, mostly from the Royal children, two birthday telegrams to Princess Louise from her parents (one from 'Papa and Mama' in Petersburg), photographic postcards of the Royal family, etc.; with further photographs and correspondence relating to Charlotte Bill (known as "Lalla", 1875-1964) and Elizabeth Pollard, both nurses to the royal children, including letters from other members of the household on behalf of the Prince of Wales and the Queen, and one from Lalla following the death of her beloved Prince John in 1919 ("...I feel very lost without him. It is a blank in my life..."), with photographs of staff at Sandringham House, etc.
Sixteen drawings by Louise, Princess Royal, subjects including a man walking a dog; figures playing badminton; soldiers with drums, a steamboat and a garden; houses and gardens showing gardeners and a man shooting a bird; three flower studies and another of a vase of flowers; five by Princess Victoria, including lines of soldiers and strange beasts; houses and gardens with figures and a man on a horse; one by Prince Albert Victor ("Eddy") of a guardsman and cavalier by a tree; six by Maude of houses amidst trees, soldiers and gardens; plus three others, 31 drawings in all, pencil, ink, crayon and watercolour, window mounted for display, 230 x 185mm. and smaller), drawn on headed paper from Abergeldie Castle, Sandringham, Chiswick House, Marlborough House, Horstead Hall, [1875-1878 where dated]; with a small group of 8 loose drawings, Louise (lily of the valley, undated), Victoria (flower, 1878), Maude (ivy, undated) and possibly Eddy (soldiers, flags);
ii) Papers retained by Jeannie Mackay, including a portrait photograph of three princesses as adults signed ("Alexandra", "Louise Prss Royal", "Maud"); group of 11 portrait photographic prints and carte de visite of Edward, Duke of Windsor as a child (two with his mother Queen Alexandra by W & D Downey of London, others by Ralph of Dersingham, Norfolk), as an adult in uniform (by Hugh Cecil, London), and other family members; with c.20 empty envelopes, some addressed to her at Sandringham, one containing a lock of hair (unidentified), two telegrams from Stamfordham on behalf of the King thanking her for sending congratulations, 15 Christmas cards, mostly from the Royal children, two birthday telegrams to Princess Louise from her parents (one from 'Papa and Mama' in Petersburg), photographic postcards of the Royal family, etc.; with further photographs and correspondence relating to Charlotte Bill (known as "Lalla", 1875-1964) and Elizabeth Pollard, both nurses to the royal children, including letters from other members of the household on behalf of the Prince of Wales and the Queen, and one from Lalla following the death of her beloved Prince John in 1919 ("...I feel very lost without him. It is a blank in my life..."), with photographs of staff at Sandringham House, etc.
Footnotes
'MY DEAR JENNIE': A substantial group of charming brightly-coloured drawings by the young children of Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, presented to their nurse Jeannie Mackay. The subject matter reflects their childhood world of countryside, houses and gardens and, of course, soldiers, and the variety of letterheads on which they are drawn attest to the peripatetic life they led, with drawings from Royal residences such as Sandringham, Abergeldie Castle and Marlborough House in London.
Jeannie Mackay (née McLean, 1848-1925) was born in Aberfeldy, Perthshire and worked for the Royal Household as housekeeper and nurse to the children of Edward VII for many years. The fond messages and drawings addressed to her by the children, and the gift of a fine brooch and earrings presented to her by Queen Alexandra on her marriage in 1879, show she was held in high esteem by all the family. Her husband, Donald Mackay, had been the Prince of Wales's piper from 1873 until his untimely death in 1895. As a widow with small children, she continued working with the Royal family at York Cottage, Sandringham and, in 1914 was awarded the Royal Household Long and Faithful Service medal. An In Memoriam notice included in the lot reveals she continued to live in Norfolk until her death. This is further confirmed by a letter in the collection from Charlotte Bill ("Lalla") who mentions that Mrs Mackay is settled in [King's] Lynn but lonely, "...her memory is very bad..." she writes.
Saleroom notices
The photograph mentioned in section ii depicts Louise, Princess Royal with her daughters Princess Alexandra and Princess Maud, and not her sisters.