Philip’s sliver of hope after IRA killing of Mountbatten
A HEARTfELT letter written by Prince Philip after his uncle’s assassination is going under the hammer.
The brief note, written after Louis Mountbatten was murdered by an IRA bomb while fishing in 1979, is going up for auction later this month – and is expected to fetch up to £150.
The tragedy shocked the nation and left the Queen and Lord Mountbatten’s nephew, the Duke of Edinburgh, distraught.
The letter, written by Prince Philip at Balmoral two weeks later, was a reply to the actor Lionel Jeffries to thank him for his personal letter of sympathy. The prince added: ‘Let us hope that the great wave of revulsion against this senseless act of terrorism may yet help to bring a change of heart in those who believe that violence and brutality are the only solutions to their problems.’
Mr Jeffries was best known for playing English eccentrics, such as the grandfather in the 1960s musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The letter is being sold by a relative of his. Another note, written by Margaret Thatcher and declaring that ‘evil must not prevail’ after the 1984 Brighton bomb, is expected to fetch up to £500 in the same auction – by Dominic Winter Auctioneers – on May 28.