NOTE ON THE DEATH OF LORD MOUNTBATTEN, SIGNED BY ELIZABETH II

ELIZABETH II. Typed letter signed. Balmoral Castle, September 25, 1979. One sheet of Balmoral Castle stationery, 7-1/2 by 9-1/2 inches, typing and writing on recto, with original autograph envelope. Handsomely floated and framed with portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Mountbatten. $6200.

Typed letter signed by Queen Elizabeth II thanking Lord Christopher Thynne for his condolences on the death of her uncle Lord Mountbatten, with the date and salutations in Elizabeth's hand and the original envelope addressed by her.

The recipient of this letter, Lord Christopher Thynne, was the younger brother of the Marquess of Bath and the husband of Antonia Palmer, a long-standing lady-in-waiting to the Queen. It was written one month's after Lord Mountbatten's shocking assassination by the IRA in August 1979. Mountbatten, the uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was a particularly close and valued relative of the royal family, and served as a mentor to Prince Charles, with each calling the other their "honorary grandfather" and "honorary grandson." He was killed when a 50-pound bomb detonated on his yacht off the coast of Ireland, killing him and four others.

The letter reads in its entirety: "Sept. 24th 1979. Dear Christopher, [typed] Thank you for your kind letter of sympathy on the tragic death of Dickie Mountbatten, which we greatly appreciated. He was a splendid person and will be much missed. [handwritten] Yours sincerely, Elizabeth R." It is accompanied by the original envelope, addressed in the Queen's hand.

Faint fold lines, attractively framed.