Lord Nelson’s letter collection to fetch up to £6m at auction

• A historic collection of 415 letters, documents and manuscripts relating to Vice-Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson is expected to fetch up to £6 million at auction.
• Assembled over 40 years by entrepreneur Clive Richards, the lot went on display at Sotheby’s on Trafalgar Day and is estimated to sell for between £4 million and £6 million.
• The archive includes Nelson's accounts of key naval victories, letters detailing the personal toll of war, and 24 letters sent to his lover, Emma Hamilton.
• Proceeds from the auction will go to the Clive Richards Foundation, which supports education, healthcare, heritage and the arts.
• Bidding for the collection, described by specialists as the greatest of its kind in private hands, opened on Wednesday and runs until 18 November.

IN FULL

Collection of letters detailing most intimate parts of Lord Nelson’s life could fetch £6m at auction