Queen Elizabeth's “Very Poor” Childhood Drawing Could Be Yours

It’s a drawing that, evidently, not even a mother could love, but royal art collectors have a shot at winning a childhood masterpiece purported to be created by the late Queen Elizabeth II at auction nonetheless.

A drawing thought to be crayoned by Elizabeth when she was somewhere between the ages of 4 and 6, dubbed “very poor” by her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, is currently being auctioned by RR Auction in a sale set to end Jan. 10 as part of the “Fine Autograph and Artifacts” collection.

The sketch, which was created in the fine medium of red crayon, is purportedly of the young Elizabeth’s vision for a new building at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London. It was included in a letter from her mother to Peter Pan scribe and playwright J.M. Barrie in the early 1930s, along with some backhanded art critique from her mother and pleas to keep the young princess’ architectural ideas private.

The drawing is bundled with the handwritten four-page letter from the Queen Mother to Barrie, as well as the original envelope. From the letter’s text, the queen had found out at the last minute that the writer was making a speech about the hospital, and her daughter demanded that she include her original artwork, with what the Queen Mother seems to feel are extraneous windows. (Everyone’s a critic.)

In the letter’s short text, written on letterhead bearing the Piccadilly London address and seal of the Duke and Duchess of York (the titles and residence Princess Elizabeth’s parents held before the unexpected 1936 accession of King George VI), she calls the drawing “very poor” not just once, but two times, and then even adds a post-script: “If you can manage it—will you not let the Press photograph this.”

Bidding for the unsigned drawing and critical letter is currently at more than $2,000.

The letter reads:

“My dear Sir James, I am so sorry that I did not realize that you were making your speech tonight, I am hurriedly sending round a very poor house I fear. Elizabeth insisted on putting in a roof with lots of little windows for the nursery maids. Please Sir James will you not appeal in her name at all, as I have such difficulties over it, and I am not sure what it is that you wish to say. It is not that I would not feel proud to have her name mentioned by you, only I have had trouble keeping her name apart from charities etc. But I expect that you only wish to say that she drew a picture for you of what the hospital should look like. Please forgive me for saying all this, but you can imagine what troubles I get into! However, I hope that this very poor drawing may be of some little use. I write this in great haste after having met Cynthia [Lady Asquith] who told me that your dinner is tonight.”

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