The City of Ghent has submitted an official request to the Lyon & Turnbull auction house, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, to prevent the sale of a letter from Queen Elizabeth I of England to Ghent official Jan van Hembyse.
The letter, sent in 1578, is valued between £14,000 and £18,000 (approximately €16,500 to €21,000). It is scheduled to be auctioned on Thursday 19 September.
Written in French and dated 30 December 1578, the letter was personally delivered to van Hembyse by the English envoy, Daniel Rogers, historical research suggests. At the time, van Hembyse was a 'schepen van de Keure,' an official with administrative duties in Ghent.
In the letter, Queen Elizabeth I requests that Catholic nobles imprisoned in Ghent for over a year be granted a fair trial.
Based on archival principles, the letter belongs to the city’s archives, according to Ghent authorities. They hope the auction will be postponed or cancelled until further research can be conducted.
