Princess Anne’s kind spirit has been unveiled after family members of a royal aide found letters and messages gathered during her years of service. Marjorie Dawson was the personal dresser and maid to the Queen’s beloved cousin, Princess Alexandra, for more than three decades.
While at the service of the royal for 36 years, Ms Dawson was in touch with several other members of the Royal Family – including the Princess Royal.
Among the items which came to light following Ms Dawson’s death, there was a handwritten note from then 18-year-old Princess Anne.
Signed off with “love Anne”, the message appears to be a thank you card sent to the royal maid after she helped the Queen’s daughter.
It read: “Many thanks for looking after me so well, kindly and patiently…
“I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
Ms Dawson, who died aged 104 last year, also collected dozens of Christmas and birthday cards, letters and invitations, the family said.
Ms Dawson’s great-cousin, 69-year-old David Knibb, said: “Marjorie married later in life to a royal butler, Willoughby Wood Barnard, but it was a single person’s job.
“She never had any children. It’s been a long process sorting through all the memorabilia.
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“We’ve found Easter messages from the Queen Mother and a letter from Princess Alexandra saying she missed Marjorie when she was on holiday.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are five diaries each documenting five years of royal service and we’ve found cine film and slides in the attic.”
Ms Dawson retired from the royal household in 1990.
However, she appears to have stayed in touch with senior royals even after her departure, as her family members found a letter from Prince Charles dated 1994.
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In that correspondence, the pair discussed the prince’s interview in which he publicly confessed his infidelity towards Princess Diana.
The Prince of Wales received other letters from Ms Dawson throughout the years.
The royal maid expressed her grief following the death of the Queen Mother, Prince Charles’s beloved grandmother, in 2002.
The heir apparent to the throne replied to Ms Dawson with a letter he personally signed off in handwriting.
He wrote: “I was so touched that you should have written as you did about my beloved grandmother.
“I have dreaded her eventual departure and now she leaves behind an enormous chasm in my life.
“However, she also leaves behind the most wonderful legacy of unbelievably happy memories, of fun, laughter and an atmosphere of constant affection and interest in everything.
“Such vital and extraordinary spirits are rare and I feel profoundly blessed that the Good Lord allowed me to have such a heavenly grandmother who taught me so many of the most valuable things in life.
“Oh, how we shall miss her and everything she stood for…”
Ms Dawson’s royal memorabilia are estimated to be worth £10,000.
They are going to be put on sales by auctioneer Hanson next Tuesday.
