LONDON.- The traditions of the coronation ceremony in Britain can be traced back a millennium. And, although every coronation is different and reflects the era in which they are staged, they each provide a unique moment that distills the extraordinary history and tradition that have maintained the monarchy at the centre of Britain’s public life over the centuries.

To mark the occasion, Sotheby’s is to stage a one-off Coronation Sale, which brings together a range of exceptional objects, old and new - of fine manuscripts, jewellery, artwork and objects - that in their different ways reflect upon Britain’s royal past from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.

The greatest highlight of the sale is the document that enabled the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Declaration of Breda. One of two surviving copies signed by King Charles II, this is the most important document relating to Britain’s royal history to ever come to the market.

The full contents of the auction are open for bidding today, including important historic documents: an exceptionally rare letter signed by Queen Katherine Parr announcing her marriage to Henry VIII; a letter by Charles I as he faced defeat in the Civil War; and long series of letters to a mentor by the future ill-fated King Edward VIII. Queen Elizabeth II is represented by one of the six brooches she gave to her six Maids of Honour for their service at the coronation and a replica set of the Crown Jewels made in honour of the same event in 1953. We celebrate the new reign with a case of 2004 Mouton Rothschild bearing a label based on a watercolour by King Charles III.

Bidding on the sale is now open until 4 May, with highlights also on exhibition at Sotheby’s London from today.

The Marriage of Katherine Parr to Henry VIII

Addressed to her brother, William, this letter - estimated at £15,000-20,000 - was written on 20 July 1543 just days after Katherine Parr’s marriage to the fifty-two-year-old King, Henry VIII. The last of his six marriages, the couple wed at Hampton Court Palace - in front of only 18 witnesses - and immediately set off on the court’s summer journey, with this letter written from their first stop at Oatlands Palace in Surrey.

Unlike Henry’s previous wives, Katherine was neither royal nor from one of England’s great noble houses. Indeed, it is believed that she was named after King Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, for whom her mother served as lady-in-waiting. A widow herself, and aged thirty-one at the time, Katherine was initially noticed by the King as part of the household of his eldest daughter, Princess Mary. Ambivalent about marrying an unpredictable King, who had executed his previous wife Catherine Howard only 18 months prior, she knew rejecting Henry was unthinkable, but that the marriage would bring great benefit to her family, with her brother William (1513-71), the recipient of this letter, elevated to the Earldom of Essex.

In the letter, she writes: “It hath pleased Almighty god of his goodness to incline the Kinges ma[jes]tes harte in suche wise towards me”, celebrating an event which is “the greatest Joye and comfort that could happen to me in this world”, and inviting her brother to “rejoyse with me in the goodness of god and of his Ma[jes]te”.

At the time of the marriage, Katherine was in love with another man, Thomas Seymour, who eventually became her husband six months after the King’s death. With four husbands across her life-time, Katherine still stands as the most-married English Queen and proved to be adept at her role, nurturing good relations with all three of the King’s children and even becoming regent when the Henry went to war in France. However, she only had brief period to enjoy her considerable wealth and independence as Queen Dowager, for she died just a year after Henry, in September 1548 from complications following childbirth.




Gabriel Heaton, Sotheby’s Specialist in Books and Manuscripts said: “Katherine has often been represented as a nurse to an ailing king but she was a highly eligible widow in her mid-thirties, extremely well educated, fluent in several languages and with a keen interest in religious reform. She understandably felt some trepidation about marrying an aging King Henry, with a history of marriage that was chequered to say the least. However, this letter shows her engaging in an external display of delight at her new circumstances. Rejecting the King’s advances in favour of his former brother-in-law, Thomas Seymour, was unthinkable, and the marriage would undoubtedly bring great benefit to her family.”

Also announced today is that later this summer, Sotheby’s July Old Masters evening sale in London will feature the only known contemporary portrait of Katherine Parr left in private hands, offered from the collection of the Earl of Jersey and estimated at £600,000 - £800,000. Possibly painted in the final years of the Queen’s life before her untimely death aged 36, it could plausibly have been commissioned by her stepson, Edward VI, or perhaps even her husband, King Henry VIII.

In this exceptionally rare portrait, the Queen is identified by the distinctive crown-shaped jewel worn at her chest, recorded in inventories of her jewellery. The composition and costume relate closely to the only other known contemporary portrait of the Queen, a full-length panel painting of circa 1545 in the National Portrait Gallery in London, attributed to ‘Master John’. This currently anonymous artist was recorded in the royal Privy Purse expenses of the time and has also traditionally been associated with the production of the portrait in July’s sale.

A diamond brooch depicting the letters ER which the late Queen Elizabeth II gave to her maids of honour as thanks for taking part in her coronation (estimate £30,000- 50,000). The brooch made by Garrards was given to Lady Moyra Campbell who was chosen to be one of Her Majesty’s six maids of honour on her Coronation Day in 1953. Lady Campbell served as lady-in-waiting to Princess Alexandra from 1954 to 1964, accompanying her on several foreign tours, before becoming lady-in-waiting to the Queen from 1964 to 1966. The brooch and Lady Campbell’s madid of honour dress will also be on display during the Coronation Sale Exhibition, before it is donated to the Ulster Museum this summer.

To mark Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation on 2nd June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, several replicas of the crown jewels, were made in honour of the occasion to be displayed to communities across the Commonwealth. This present set for sale (estimate £10,000-15,000) includes five sceptres, three swords and five crowns, including St Edward’s Staff, the Queen Mother’s Crown and the Anointing Spoon.

An iconic 2008 screenprint of Queen Elizabeth II by Chris Levine who was commissioned in 2004 by the Jersey Heritage Trust to create the first holograph portrait of the Queen. The commission was to mark the Island of Jersey’s 800 years of allegiance to the Crown. The resulting portrait, titled Equanimity, was presented to the National Portrait Gallery by the people of Jersey in 2011. The present Lightness of Being, 2008 (Golden) (estimate £40,000-60,000), offered for sale is a variant from the 2004 sitting which Levine began using in his work in 2008. The serene image is one of the most beloved 21st-century representations of the late British monarch.

A letter signed by King Henry VIII to Louise of Savoy, Regent of France, informing her that he is sending Thomas More to attend peace negotiations at Cambrai. The Treaty of Cambrai brought about a cessation of the Italian war between Europe’s two greatest dynasties – the Habsburgs and the Valois- and this letter was written at a moment of intense drama (estimate £30,000- 50,000).

Nine illustrated heraldic manuscripts presented to Queen Elizabeth I as New Year’s gifts between 1569 to 1580 (estimate £100,000- 200,000). Each contains historic coat of arms painted in vivid emblazonry with gold, silver and coloured inks. New year gift giving was a central event in the calendar of the court.

A letter from Mary, Queen of Scots to the Marquis de Rambouillet thanking him for his services during his mission to the English court, complaining of the lies that have been spread by her enemies and reflecting on her confinement (estimate £24,000- 35,000).

In 2004, Chateau Mouton Rothschild marked the Centenary of the Entente Cordiale, concluded by Britain and France on 8 April 1904. King Edward VII is known to have played a prominent part in the agreement, which would herald a genuine alliance during the First World War and forever transform two rival powers. To commemorate the occasion Baroness Philippine de Rothschild asked his descendant HRH King Charles to create a label based on one of his watercolours, inspired by a French landscape. The 2004 case is expected to fetch between £3,800-5,000.

A series of 45 autograph letters by Edward VIII addressed to his mentor Admiral Sir Campbell Tate, watchkeeper in the battleship Hindustan. Written while an undergraduate at Oxford and later during the First World War, he vents his frustrations and dreams to the older naval officer. These warm and informative letters reveal their close bond and the dissatisfaction the prince felt with the unchallenging role he was forced to assume (estimate £6,000- 8,000).

An exceptional letter sent by Charles I to Prince Rupert of the Rhine, expressing candidly his bitter feelings of personal betrayal at his nephew’s surrender of Bristol and shock at the ease of his defeat. The fall of Bristol to the New Model Army on 11 September 1645 marked the loss of the only major seaport left in royalist hands which was a devastating blow to the King (estimate £7,000- 9,000).