AN AUCTION of hundreds of items amassed by one of the Royal family's most faithful servants made nearly £450,000 last night.
The collection of the late William Tallon, affectionately known as Backstairs Billy for his role as Page of the Backstairs, went under the hammer in Colchester, Essex.
And, following a marathon bidding session that began at 10am and finished at 8.
35pm, the 700 lots netted £444,634 – more than double the original estimate.
The top-priced individual item was a portrait of the Queen Mother by Sir James Gunn, which was dated November 26, 1945, and which sold for £30,000.
The biggest surprise of the day, however, was the £16,000 paid for a letter from the Queen Mother to Mr Tallon.
The hand-written note said: "I think that I will take two small bottles of Dubonnet and gin with me this morning, in case it is needed."
The lot, which had been expected to fetch between £200 and £300, was sold to a mystery telephone bidder.
Tallon, who died last November at the age of 72, joined the Royal Household in 1951, aged 15.
Over the following 51 years, he worked his way up to become the Queen Mother's Steward and the Page of the Backstairs.
Also included in the sale were eight letters penned to Tallon by Diana, Princess of Wales, which made a combined £20,000.
The full article contains 240 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
