A letter written by British national hero Horatio Nelson, victor over Pierre-Charles Villeneuve's Franco-Spanish forces at Trafalgar in 1805 (a battle which got central London's new square named after it in the 1840s), to his lover Lady Emma Hamilton, which was sent just a fortnight after the birth of a "secret" love child, is up for auction at Christie's in London.
The letter, dated 12 February 1801, tells of his fears for their clandestine affair and the interception of their correspondence.
Nelson explains a midshipman posted a previous letter at Brixham but fears it may have been intercepted.
Their child Horatia was born on 29 January 1801 just a fortnight before Nelson wrote the letter. It is now expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 at the auction.
Horatia Nelson died in 1881 after having ten children (seven boys and three girls) with Rev. Philip Ward, the curator of her father's home village of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk.
Lord Nelson love child letter for sale
18 November 2014
BBC News
The love child letter was posted just a fortnight after Horatia was born
A letter from Lord Nelson to Lady Emma Hamilton, sent just a fortnight after the birth of a "secret" love child, is up for auction.
Christie's in London said it could fetch between £10,000 and £15,000.
The missive tells of his fears for their clandestine affair and the interception of their correspondence.
In the letter dated 12 February 1801, Nelson explains a midshipman posted a previous letter at Brixham but fears it may have been intercepted.
Their child Horatia was born on 29 January 1801 just a fortnight before Nelson wrote the letter.
He writes: "The mid assures me he untied the red tape and put the three letters into the Post Office. I therefore hope it is come to hand, if not it is intercepted."
The couple pretended that Horatia was the daughter of a fictitious Portsmouth Admiral named Thompson and that they were the child's godparents.
Horatia Nelson, the illegitimate daugher of Lord Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton, in 1859 aged 58. She was christened Horatia Nelson Thompson
In the letter Nelson writes of himself in code: "Mrs Thomson's (sic) friend desires you will assure her of his unalterable and affectionate regard and begs she will be assured that all the world cannot either change or make him wish to change for a moment and that he is unalterably hers."
He ends by asking Lady Hamilton: "Kiss my god child."
Auctioneers Christie's said: "The letter betrays some of the insecurities that beset the couple, including the constant fear that one of their letters - full of thinly-veiled affection with neither party well disguised by their use of the 'Thomson' alias - would fall into strange hands.
"From his proclamations of affection it also seems that Emma, or 'Mrs Thomson' as she appears here, had questioned Nelson's devotion.
"Accusations of emotional infidelity and neglect recur throughout their correspondence and saw him whipped into agonies of jealousy and despair.
"Based in England during the final negotiations of the Peace of Amiens, Nelson could frequently visit Emma and play some part in the life of his illegitimate daughter, Horatia."
A spokesman for Christie's said the current owner of the letter is a private collector who wants to remain anonymous.
Nelson was a national hero
Born in Norfolk on 29 September 1758, Horatio Nelson was a naval captain by 21, known throughout Europe by 39 and dead at 47
Won three of the most decisive naval victories in British history at the Nile (1798 ), Copenhagen (1801) and Trafalgar (1805)
Nelson was seriously wounded four times and famously killed by a French sniper aboard HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar
Among his dying words were to ask his devoted Flag Captain Thomas Hardy to kiss him - a fact that prudish Victorian historians tried to suppress (Oliver Hardy, one half of British/American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, claimed to be Flag Captain Thomas Hardy's direct descendant)
Nelson was blind in his right eye but, contrary to popular myth, did not wear an eye patch. He also lost his right arm as a result of battle
HMS Victory, a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line, is still a serving Royal Navy warship. It is the world's oldest warship still in commission
Source: BBC History
BBC News - Lord Nelson love child letter for sale
The letter, dated 12 February 1801, tells of his fears for their clandestine affair and the interception of their correspondence.
Nelson explains a midshipman posted a previous letter at Brixham but fears it may have been intercepted.
Their child Horatia was born on 29 January 1801 just a fortnight before Nelson wrote the letter. It is now expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 at the auction.
Horatia Nelson died in 1881 after having ten children (seven boys and three girls) with Rev. Philip Ward, the curator of her father's home village of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk.
Lord Nelson love child letter for sale
18 November 2014
BBC News
The love child letter was posted just a fortnight after Horatia was born
A letter from Lord Nelson to Lady Emma Hamilton, sent just a fortnight after the birth of a "secret" love child, is up for auction.
Christie's in London said it could fetch between £10,000 and £15,000.
The missive tells of his fears for their clandestine affair and the interception of their correspondence.
In the letter dated 12 February 1801, Nelson explains a midshipman posted a previous letter at Brixham but fears it may have been intercepted.
Their child Horatia was born on 29 January 1801 just a fortnight before Nelson wrote the letter.
He writes: "The mid assures me he untied the red tape and put the three letters into the Post Office. I therefore hope it is come to hand, if not it is intercepted."
The couple pretended that Horatia was the daughter of a fictitious Portsmouth Admiral named Thompson and that they were the child's godparents.
Horatia Nelson, the illegitimate daugher of Lord Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton, in 1859 aged 58. She was christened Horatia Nelson Thompson
In the letter Nelson writes of himself in code: "Mrs Thomson's (sic) friend desires you will assure her of his unalterable and affectionate regard and begs she will be assured that all the world cannot either change or make him wish to change for a moment and that he is unalterably hers."
He ends by asking Lady Hamilton: "Kiss my god child."
Auctioneers Christie's said: "The letter betrays some of the insecurities that beset the couple, including the constant fear that one of their letters - full of thinly-veiled affection with neither party well disguised by their use of the 'Thomson' alias - would fall into strange hands.
"From his proclamations of affection it also seems that Emma, or 'Mrs Thomson' as she appears here, had questioned Nelson's devotion.
"Accusations of emotional infidelity and neglect recur throughout their correspondence and saw him whipped into agonies of jealousy and despair.
"Based in England during the final negotiations of the Peace of Amiens, Nelson could frequently visit Emma and play some part in the life of his illegitimate daughter, Horatia."
A spokesman for Christie's said the current owner of the letter is a private collector who wants to remain anonymous.
Nelson was a national hero
Born in Norfolk on 29 September 1758, Horatio Nelson was a naval captain by 21, known throughout Europe by 39 and dead at 47
Won three of the most decisive naval victories in British history at the Nile (1798 ), Copenhagen (1801) and Trafalgar (1805)
Nelson was seriously wounded four times and famously killed by a French sniper aboard HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar
Among his dying words were to ask his devoted Flag Captain Thomas Hardy to kiss him - a fact that prudish Victorian historians tried to suppress (Oliver Hardy, one half of British/American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, claimed to be Flag Captain Thomas Hardy's direct descendant)
Nelson was blind in his right eye but, contrary to popular myth, did not wear an eye patch. He also lost his right arm as a result of battle
HMS Victory, a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line, is still a serving Royal Navy warship. It is the world's oldest warship still in commission
Source: BBC History
BBC News - Lord Nelson love child letter for sale
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