Pattie Boyd is set to auction off a selection of love letters written to her by two of her former husbands: George Harrison and Eric Clapton.
Boyd, who was an internationally famous fashion model, was a muse to both musicians and has been cited as the inspiration behind multiple classic rock songs, including ‘Something’, ‘Layla’ and ‘Wonderful Tonight’.
And now, Boyd, aged 79, has decided to sell some of the letters along with a range of other possessions via the auction house Christie’s.
Boyd first met Harrison on the set of 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night, eventually marrying the guitarist in 1966. Harrison was friends with Clapton and the latter would regularly spend time at their Surrey home, with the two seemingly striking up their own relationship. Boyd divorced Harrison in 1977 and married Clapton in 1979, before eventually splitting from him in the late ‘80s.
Among the letters up for auction include handwritten letters from Harrison while he was away on tour with The Beatles. “Hope you’re OK,” reads one. “I miss you. I’m starving – many grilled cheese sandwiches. Love you.”
Also included are letters from Clapton, including one from 1970 that reads: “I am writing this letter to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings towards a subject well known to both of us”.
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“What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband?” he continued. “All these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!”
“Don’t telephone! Send a letter… That is much safer.”
Another from several months later goes further: “Dear Layla,” Clapton began, using his nickname for Boyd. “Why do you hesitate, am I a poor lover, am I ugly, am I too weak, too strong, do you know why?
“If you want me, take me, I am yours… if you don’t want me, please break the spell that binds me. To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine. My love is yours.”
Also included are a homemade Christmas card designed by Harrison in 1968 and the original painting La Jeune Fille au Bouquet by Emile Théodore Frandsen de Schomberg, which was used as the cover for Derek and the Dominos’ 1970 album ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’.
Last week, details were announced for a run of four Beatles biopics, one focusing on each of the band’s members. Sam Mendes (1917, Skyfall) is set to direct all four, with a prospective release date of 2027 being given. It will be the first time that the band will have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film.