Lot 455
Bentley & Prince George Duke of Kent (1902-1942) The Duke of Kent (from 1934) owned a series of Bentley motor-cars from 1926 to include two 6½-liters and an 8-litre. This collection consists of 15 letters dating between 1926 and 1931 together with a signed photograph. N.B. There are 11 letters signed by ‘Prince George’.
Historic Note: The subject matter of all these letters concerns Bentley motor-cars; indeed, in the period covered by this correspondence, the Prince owned a series of Bentley motor cars, including two Gurney Nutting Saloons ( Dec 1926 and April 1929), followed by a Windover-bodied 8 Litre from March 1931. All of the letters are addressed to Captain Rothschild, who evidently offered the Duke support with his insurance requirements and motoring activities: the earliest letter, sent on May 4th 1926, included the writer's musings on whether a partition should be incorporated into the six cylinder Weymann saloon that Gurney Nutting were preparing for him. By August of the same year, attention had turned to the upholstery, with the Duke intent on having leather for the seating rather than cloth which 'always get so dirty and wears out'. Records suggest that the Prince initially owned a three litre Bentley before the date of these letters. The 1927 car had chassis number FW 2619, and the 1929 car had chassis LB. 2343 and the 8- litre, chassis YR 5087 and registered YR 11. The letters were sent from various places, including on board HMS Hawkins when serving in the Royal Navy, in 1926 when serving in the China Sea; one letter was signed by George on 'Windsor Castle notepaper; four letters were signed by George on 'Buckingham Palace' notepaper; one letter was signed by George on 'Balmoral Castle' notepaper; and another one signed by George on 'Sandringham' notepaper. In addition, there were two letters signed by Victoria Milford Haven - the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, mother of Earl Mountbatten, on 'Kensington Palace' notepaper. The Duke of Kent was killed in a military air crash in August 1942. Accompanying the letters is a signed portrait of the Duke in 1926 and another small image of him in a makeshift swimming pool, on-board ship, with his brother the Prince of Wales. On the back of the photograph is written "Private, definitely not for publication", and signed by F. Lionel Rapson, well known for his design of car accessories, especially tyres, but he was also the engineer in charge of the royal cars at Kensington Palace until 1914.
