Princess Margaret's never-before-seen letters to her American socialite best friend reveal she thought her five-month-old nephew, Prince Charles, was 'heavenly'.  

Written between 1949 and 1950 the letters were all written to Sharman Douglas, an American socialite and daughter of the then US ambassador to the Royal Court in London.

A 19-year-old Margaret, who was rumoured to have had a two-year lesbian affair with her 21-year-old friend, thanks Sharman for invitations to a variety of dinners, parties and social occasions.   

And in one of 10 letters on Buckingham Palace notepaper the princess says she would 'adore' it if her friend would meet her nephew and heir to the throne, Charles.

Margaret with her friend Sharman Douglas at Royal Ascot in 1950. In her letters the Queen's younger sister wrote of her pride and excitement at the prospect of showing off the heir to the throne

Princess Margaret reminded her friend Sharman Douglas of when she mentioned a wish to meet her baby nephew Charles while the pair were at the 400 Club in Leicester Square

Written between 1949 and 1950 the letters were all written to Sharman Douglas, an American socialite and daughter of the then US ambassador to the Royal Court in London 

The Queen's younger sister wrote of her pride and excitement at the prospect of showing off her sister Elizabeth's first-born child. 

One letter read: 'In that last fleeting moment in the 400 (the 400 Club in Leicester Square) you said you'd like to come and see my heavenly nephew. I don't know quite when you stop work but...I would adore to show him to you.' 

A running theme in the correspondence is the Princess expressing her thanks for having been invited to dinner parties hosted by the Douglas family.

After one such ball in July 1949 Margaret described how she had been so ecstatic the morning after she put her party dress on and performed the Can-Can for her mother, the Queen Mum.

She wrote: 'Thank you a thousand times for your magnificent ball last night.. I was feeling so over-excited by the time our Can-Can was due that I could hardly breathe.

'Mummie came in to my room and I was so ecstatic about the whole thing that I had to dress up and do the whole thing for her!'

Margaret also described how thrilled she had been to meet American film stars Danny Kaye and Robert Montgomery at another party in June 1949.

The royal family during a visit to Balmoral castle in 1951. A young Prince Charles is accompanied by his baby sister Princess Anne, his grandmother who later became known as the Queen mother, Princess Margaret, Prince Philip, King George and the future Queen Elizabeth II

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A running theme in the correspondence is the Princess expressing her thanks for having been invited to dinner parties hosted by the Douglas family. In this letter dated 1949 she thanks her host 'a thousand times'

One morning after a party the young princess was so excited by her can-can she put her evening dress back on and performed for her mother

But her excitement was tainted with fear as she believed she had made a fool of herself at the social gathering. 

She said: 'I woke up this morning and thought with horror how I could have been brave enough to have sung in front of all these frightfully professional people!

'With a slight shudder I remembered how I'd sung every song and grew more and more nauseous as my recollections off the evening grew clearer! The only solace was the memory of Robert Montgomery rolling o the soap kicking his legs in the air!'

In another revealing letter Margaret admonished herself for forgetting to take her personal bodyguard with her when she and Sharman decided to go to the cinema on the spur of the moment.

She called herself an 'absolute idiot and forgetting to ask...Sergeant Green to come with us.'

She added: 'Luckily being a sensible man he dashed after us and all was well, but it was stupidly unthinking on my part.' 

Another letter thanks her host for an evening where she met American film stars Danny Kaye and Robert Montgomery at another party in June 1949

Despite enjoying her evening the young princess worries she made a fool of herself by singing in front of 'frightfully professional people'

The collection of letters have now been consigned for sale by a member of the Douglas family.

Auctioneer Chris Ewbank, of Ewbanks of Surrey, said: 'Whatever may have come later, these letters show a charming young princess, full of life, thoughtful and with impeccable manners.

'While she clearly loved a party and the excitement of the social round, what she has to say here shows that that she was just as susceptible as anyone else to the self-doubts of being a teenager, and valued the friendship of the Douglas family as a whole.

'The tone and content of the letters recapture not just the vitality and attractiveness of the young Princess on the cusp of adulthood, but also the atmosphere of the times.

'They are like a time capsule that returns us to the moment.'

Sharman Douglas' father, Lewis Douglas, was the US ambassador to the Royal Court in London between 1947 and 1950.

During her time in London she became very close to Margaret was rumoured to have had a two year relationship with her.  

The sale takes place on March 22. 

One dinner party lasted from 4.30pm to 1am as Margaret stayed for dinner and was asked to go to see a film on the spur of the moment

Unfortunately Margaret forgot to ask her personal body guard with her to see a film. She was saved only when Sergeant Greene was forced to run after them

A young Charles on a deer surrounded by his family including his grandmother who later became known as Queen Mother, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne and King George 

When Sharman - known as ‘Charmin’ Sharman’ or ‘Sass’ - arrived at the Court of St James in 1947, she immediately struck up a warm friendship with Margaret. Then aged 19 the princess was 17 and the pair began to spend time together. In this letter Margaret thanks her friend for a Christmas present

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