Christmas cards sent by the Queen sell at auction

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-40836655

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A collection of Christmas cards sent by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh over a 40-year period has been sold at auction.

The 35 cards, signed Elizabeth R and Philip, were sent between 1959 and 2001 and show the growing Royal Family.

The Queen has been sending official Christmas cards to friends and employees every year since 1952.

They were sold for £1,530 at auction in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on Friday.

A spokesman for auctioneers Moore Allen and Innocent said: "The cards have created a fascinating record of the Royal Family growing year by year, with photographs taken by The Duke of York, Lord Snowdon, and official photographers.

"The top individual lot price was the £280 paid for the earliest cards - those from 1959, 1960 and 1961."