Rare sketch of young Queen Elizabeth goes up for auction

A drawing depicting a young Queen Elizabeth II, made almost a century ago, is set to go under the hammer valued at £2,000.

The late monarch sat for Anglo-Hungarian portraitist Philip de László in 1933, aged just six or seven.

She held the title Princess of York at the time, while her grandfather George V held the throne.

Measuring 19 inches by 12 inches, the red chalk study served as a preparatory piece for a finished oil painting in the Royal Collection, for the Duchess of York (late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother).

It will be offered under the hammer by Sloane Street Auctions in Chelsea on 22 October with an estimate of £1,000 to £2,000.

Mr De László mentioned during a past interview that at the conclusion of a sitting the princess remarked confidentially: “I am going to tell you something, Mr de Laszlo, that will surprise you.

“I paint, too, and I’m a very good painter. I’ll bring some of my work next time and show you."

Sloane Street Auctions owner Daniel Hunt said: “Royal items often come up for auction, but this sketch [is] of a young girl who had no idea at the time that she would later come to the throne.

“As the country’s longest reigning monarch [this] is out of the ordinary and a particularly fascinating study.”

At the time that the sketch was made, Elizabeth enjoyed a relatively private childhood at 145 Picadilly, a large terraced townhouse in London.

She was educated in the morning by a nanny and governess, then had the rest of the day for singing, dancing, and playing in the garden with her little sister, Margaret.

Just three years later, the young family’s life was upended by the abdication of Elizabeth’s uncle, Edward, and they moved into Buckingham Palace.

In February, a handwritten letter and accompanying doodles by the future queen were put up for auction in Kent.

Penned by Elizabeth when she was around 10, they were found hidden under a bed and sold for £25,000.

The letter, addressed to Beatrice Stillman, the head housemaid at Royal Lodge in Windsor, was adorned with carefully drawn sketches of dogs, horses, and children.