Eric Clapton’s Letters to Pattie Boyd amid Love Triangle with George Harrison to Be Auctioned: ‘My Love Is Yours’
The love letters exchanged between Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd during their entanglement with The Beatles’ George Harrison are poised to hit the auction block, offering a glimpse into the complexities of their relationship.
Among the intimate items up for auction by Christie's next month are two letters penned by Clapton, then 78, to Boyd, then 79. These artifacts provide a rare window into the genesis of their romance.
In one poignant letter, dated four years into Boyd’s marriage to Harrison in 1970, Clapton delicately probes Boyd about her feelings toward her husband while expressing his own sentiments.
"I am writing this letter to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings towards a subject well known to both of us," he wrote. "What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband? 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," Clapton insisted, while signing off. “Please do this, whatever it may say, my mind will be at rest.”
In the second letter, composed on a torn page from John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Clapton sought further elucidation from Boyd regarding their relationship, affectionately addressing her as Layla—a name that would later inspire his iconic 1970 song.
"Dear Layla," Clapton began in the letter. "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.”
Boyd and Harrison first crossed paths on the set of her debut film, A Hard Day’s Night, in 1964. Their union was formalized at a London Registry office on Jan. 21, 1966. As detailed in her 2020 memoir, "Pattie Boyd: My Life in Pictures," Boyd's interest in Clapton blossomed during marital discord with Harrison.
Amidst their deepening connection, Clapton penned numerous love letters to Boyd. Eventually, Boyd departed from Harrison to be with Clapton in 1974, culminating in their marriage in 1979. Despite the romantic turmoil, the trio maintained an amicable relationship until Harrison's passing in November 2001.
Reflecting on the letters now on the auction block, Boyd admitted mistaking them for the musings of an eccentric fan.
"I had no idea it was from Eric,” she said, per Christie’s. “I even showed it to George! … I have kept the letter ever since in a little box filled with trinkets and things, and when I was writing my autobiography, Wonderful Today, I brought it out.”
Also up for auction are photographs capturing intimate moments between Boyd and Harrison, alongside heartfelt letters penned by Harrison to his former spouse. Among the notable pieces is the painting 'La Jeune Fille au Bouquet' by Emile Théodore Frandsen de Schomberg, a gift from Clapton to Harrison following his separation from Boyd.
The Pattie Boyd Collection will be available for bidding online through Christie's from March 8 to 21. For those eager to view the items in person, a public auction preview will be held at Christie's in London from March 15—22.
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