Pantomime princesses! Charming snaps of the Queen performing with her sister Margaret in wartime plays at Windsor Castle are set to fetch £4,000 at auction
- Photos of the then Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret performing on stage are set to be auctioned
- The royal sisters took to the stage in productions of Aladdin (1943) and Old Mother Red Riding Boots (1944)
- The pantomimes, performed at Windsor Castle, raised money for the Royal Household Wool Fund
- Album of performance photos will be put up for auction alongside programmes from the plays
Charming photos of the Queen performing in pantomimes as a teenager are expected to fetch £4,000 at auction.
The then Princess Elizabeth took to the stage alongside her sister Princess Margaret in wartime productions of Aladdin (1943) and Old Mother Red Riding Boots (1944).
The pantomimes, performed at Windsor Castle, raised money for the Royal Household Wool Fund, which supplied knitting wool to make comforters for soldiers fighting on the front line.
They were performed to fellow royals, members of the Armed Forces and local schoolchildren. A young Prince Philip is also said to have seen his future wife in the lead role in Aladdin.
Third royal performance: Pricesses Margaret and Elizabeth in the 1943 play Aladdin in Windsor, Berkshire
Memorabilia: A signed picture of Princess Margaret (left) and Princess Elizabeth (right) from the play Aladdin in 1943
Fundraising: The pantomimes, performed at Windsor Castle, raised money for the Royal Household Wool Fund, which supplied knitting wool to make comforters for soldiers fighting on the front line. Pictured, the princesses in Aladdin
In the spotlight: Margaret in a production of Old Mother Red Riding Boots in 1944, which she performed with Elizabeth (right)
Curtain call! Pictured: Elizabeth and Margaret take a bow following a production of Old Mother Red Riding Boots in 1944
Treasured memories: The photos are up for sale alongside programs and tickets from the intimate royal performances
Elizabeth and Margaret became so involved in the productions that they even helped make their own costumes.
George VI also pulled strings to make his daughters’ performing dreams come true, enlisting an Academy Award-winner to design the set and bringing in a sound technician from the BBC.
Photos of the sisters on stage, as well as programmes from the performances, will go under the hammer at TW Gaze, of Diss, Norfolk, on June 14.
The albums originally belonged to artist and illustrator Sylvia Salisbury, who attended the pantomimes. Her father, Frank O. Salisbury, befriended the royals after illustrating the Princess Elizabeth Gift Book in 1935.
Showstopping: Elizabeth, left, played Lady Christina Sherwood in Old Mother Red Riding Boots in 1944
Leading lady: Margaret took on the role of The Honourable Lucinda Fairfax in Old Mother Red Riding Boots in 1944, pictured
Taking centre stage! Princess Margaret steps up to perform in Old Mother Red Riding Boots in Windsor in 1944
Feeling shy? Margaret looks somewhat uncertain as she poses for a photo with one of her co-stars in 1944
Getting into the festive spirit: Elizabeth (second from right) and Margaret (right) in a Christmas production of Aladdin in 1943
Robert Henshilwood, specialist at TW Gaze, said: ‘During the Second World War, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret spent much of their time in Windsor, safely away from the bombing in London.
‘The Christmas pantomimes were an enjoyable distraction from the harsh realities of war. The princesses really threw themselves into them and even helped make the costumes.
‘King George VI found the performances incredibly moving, writing in his diaries about how he was in floods of tears watching them each year. The pantomimes were performed in front of friends and close relations of the Royal Family. These fantastic photos very rarely come up on the market.’
Royal stars: Princess Elizabeth (right) and Margaret in Old Mother Red Riding Boots, 1944, at the Royal School, Windsor
Treasured memories: Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret photographed in costume following their 1944 production
Dynamic duo! Princess Elizabeth starred opposite each other in the light-hearted productions in 1944 (left) and 1943 (right)
Ready for her solo! Elizabeth (in white, alongside Princess Margaret) played Lady Christina Sherwood in Old Mother Red Riding Boots and sang ‘Swinging on a Star’, which won an Oscar that year for best original song for the film Going my Way
Getting into character: Margaret and Elizabeth in a Christmas production of Aladdin in 1943. Right, Elizabeth in a 1944 play
Royal stars! Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, pictured in 1944, performed for local schoolchildren in Windsor
Stars of the show! Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret are front and centre in this photo from Christmas, 1944
In the 1943 production of Aladdin, Elizabeth, then aged 17, sparkled in the lead role as Aladdin while a 13-year-old Margaret played the laundry boy’s girlfriend, Princess Roxana.
The Queen’s Governess Marion ‘Crawfie’ Crawford said in her memoirs: ‘The pantomime went off very well. I have never known Lilibet more animated. There was a sparkle about her none of us had ever seen before.’
In the audience was Prince Philip of Greece whose eye was said to have been caught by Elizabeth on this occasion.
A year later, they returned to the stage for Old Mother Red Riding Boots, with Margaret taking on the role of The Honourable Lucinda Fairfax.
Elizabeth played Lady Christina Sherwood and sang ‘Swinging on a Star’, which won an Oscar that year for best original song for the film Going my Way.
Main character: Elizabeth, then aged 17, sparkled in the lead role as Aladdin while a 13-year-old Margaret played the laundry boy’s girlfriend, Princess Roxana, in a 1943 production of Aladdin
Well maintained: The photographs are presented in an album that will make a perfect memento for royal fans
Say cheese! Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret are centre stage for this light-hearted scene in Windsor in 1944
Pretty as a picture! The princesses, pictured centre, took on roles in Old Mother Red Riding Boots at Windsor in 1944
Taking a bow: Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret curtseyed alongside their co-stars following the performance
Mementoes: The programmes for Aladdin (1943) and Old Mother Red Riding Boots (1944) are also going under the hammer
Collection: The royal keepsakes are displayed in two albums that will go up for auction in Norfolk
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