Queen Elizabeth’s Private Letters Reveal Her Anger Over a Horse’s Diagnosis

A cache of private letters has offered a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II’s candid side, including a sharp complaint about a vet’s assessment of one of her horses. In a July 1960 letter to her equerry, Brigadier Walter Morley Sale, the monarch insisted that her horse Dove’s foal was not ill and made no secret of her frustration. “I’m furious!” she wrote, before adding that there was “absolutely nothing the matter” with the foal. The keen rider went on to declare: “I’m allergic to vets and I can’t help it.” The exchange followed a disagreement over the animal’s diagnosis, according to the account of the archive. The collection contains nearly 50 letters and notes Elizabeth sent Sale between 1954 and 1961. It had remained with the equerry’s family for around 65 years and is now being offered for sale by Bonhams. The auction house expects the papers to fetch between £8,000 and £12,000. Other notes show the Queen discussing the royal horses and the risks of letting her children ride them. She asked Sale to ensure the ponies were well exercised, remarking that even Princess Anne found them difficult to hold and that Prince Charles might be put off riding one. Elizabeth also made light of her own riding ability, describing Sea Breeze as too strong and capable for her occasional rides. In a separate letter, after an accident involving a carriage, she asked whether she could sue the woman responsible for damage or dangerous driving. The archive includes seven letters signed “Elizabeth R,” 37 memoranda and 12 Christmas cards. One early note, written after her coronation, showed her still adjusting to the formal signature. She also asked that carriages be open when they arrived before her and Prince Philip, saying a closed carriage had looked wrong at Westminster.