A personal letter penned by the late Queen Elizabeth II was sold at auction in Germany on Saturday for 8,300 euros ($8,634), far exceeding the starting price of 2,600 euros.

The buyer was only identified as a woman living abroad.

The Eppi auction house, based in Stuttgart, auctioned off the royal letter, dated 1966. The two-page letter is addressed to the German equestrian Etti Plesch, nee Maria Grafin von Wurmbrand-Stuppach, whose horses won the prestigious Epsom Derby race in England two times.

The queen wrote to "Dear Mrs. Plesch" and that she was "so delighted with the lovely picture" of horses in her country retreat of Sandringham "which I received from you and Mr. Plesch for Christmas."

The then 40-year-old monarch concludes her thank you letter with the insight that patience is perhaps the most important virtue in horse breeding, as well as a bit of luck.

Discussing the prospective buyers of royal memorabilia, Ferdinand Benedikt Eppli of the auction house told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), "There are the enthusiasts who are after postal items with an interesting history or from prominent senders ... and there are the fans of the British royal family."

Besides the queen's letter, a Buckingham Palace letter from Lady Diana's office was also on offer during the auction along with art, furniture and other objects that belonged to the queen.