Bond author Ian Fleming’s letters to real Miss Moneypenny for sale

On the eve of the world premiere of the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace, the London auction house Christies is to sell four letters Bond creator Ian Fleming wrote to the women said to be the inspiration for Miss Moneypenny. The letters, written to Loelia Ponsonby (pictured), wife of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, are not dated, but their subject matter places them in the 1940s, by which time the Duchess had separated from her husband. One is signed "S.W.A.K." [sealed with a kiss] while another bears the tongue-in-cheek postscript: "PS This is a love letter."

Inviting the Duchess to the Blenheim Ball, Fleming wrote: "I shall come and wake you with a kiss, I shall sleep outside (I said outside) your door and live on Luft and Liebe - which means air and love." Tempting her to visit him after a trip to Cannes, he said: "I would coo to you and smooth you down and then you wouldn't talk so fast and think someone is always standing behind your back."

Despite the intimate tone of the letters, it is thought that the Duchess and Fleming, like Bond and Moneypenny, were only ever friends. The Fleming letters have remained in private hands until now and will go under the hammer on November 13, when they are expected to fetch up to £3,500.

The Duchess, who divorced in 1947, went on to marry the Arctic explorer Sir Martin Lindsay in 1969. She died in 1993, outliving Fleming by nearly 30 years. She is credited with the famous quip: "Anybody seen on a bus over the age of 30 has been a failure in life." ·