A suitcase once containing Elizabeth Taylor's unwanted clothes which was shipped by Richard Burton to his sister suggesting to give them to "old colliers" is up for auction. Burton, from Pontrhydyfen in Neath Port Talbot, wrote to his sister Hilda from Switzerland saying "don't pass out but this is from me" as he sent her the clothes in 1971. Burton was married five times, twice to Taylor with whom he starred in 11 films.
Their relationship was born from an affair while filming Cleopatra together in the 1960s. The suitcase the clothes contained and the letter Burton sent his sister are among a stash of Welsh memorabilia up for auction on Thursday. Auctioneer Rogers Jones Co said the two items, along with a Pratesi shawl embroidered with "Hilda and David love Elizabeth" as a gift, are expected to be sold for up to £1,300.
The letter penned by Burton to Hilda suggested she give the clothes to a jumble sale or to "old colliers". It reads: "Dear Hilda, don't pass out but this is from me. "Chiefly it's to tell you that Elizabeth has found a lot of clothes that she doesn't wear anymore and wondered if you have a jumble sale or something or give them away to old colliers, or to do what you like with them.
"Some of them are out of style, but she says that a needle and cotton can work wonders. "A large parcel will be arriving shortly, and all customs duties and carriage should have been paid. If not let me know and I'll create a fuss." Burton and Taylor met on the set of Cleopatra in Italy in 1961, and were both married to other people but began a romantic affair.
They married in 1964 and their lavish lifestyle helped to cement their position as one of the most famous couples on the planet. One of Burton's most extravagant gifts to Taylor was the sixty-nine carat pear shaped diamond that came to be known as the Burton-Taylor diamond. Burton is reputed to have paid $1.1m for the diamond in 1969.
The couple divorced 1974 before remarrying for the second time eighteen months later in 1975. They divorced again in August 1976. Screen legend Burton was born Richard Jenkins, in Pontrhydyfen in the Afan Valley, Neath Port Talbot, in 1925 and died aged 58 in 1984.
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