LOVE letters penned by an actress who had a passionate affair with a future king have come to light.

Lillie Langtry's romance with Edward VII scandalised Victorian Britain. The married socialite had a relationship with the then-Prince of Wales in the 1880s. At the height of their affair, he even built her a home in Bournemouth, where the couple conducted their trysts away from the public gaze.

The property, which was called the Red House, is now the Langtry Manor Hotel. The main bedroom is used as a honeymoon suite.

Eight letters written by Lillie in 1890 - a decade after her fling with the Queen's great-grandfather - are now due to go under the hammer.

The West End actress, who was 37 at the time, was smitten with aristocrat John Talbot Clifton.

In one of the letters to him, Lillie declared her love for 'Talbot' and begged him to take her to America.

"I was so sorry to say goodbye and to feel that we had wasted the last three days in quarrelling. Why don't you let me come with you. Will you be glad to see me if I come out to America?" she wrote.

"I was so pitiful to see the poor coach left behind - I wept all the way back and feel so blue. God bless you. My darling boy. Love you - L."

In another note, written about her ex-husband Edward Langtry, Lillie writes about the drink problem he suffered as a result of her affairs.

Lillie's affair with the king came to an end in 1880. Lillie became an American citizen in 1897 and died in Monte Carlo in 1929 aged 75.

Rarely-seen photographs of the actress are included in the auction. Many of the black and white images were taken as publicity shots for her acting career.

The items have been owned for many years by a British collector and are now being sold. The eight love letters are valued at £6,000, while the photos are sold in batches worth £150 to £300 each.

The sale will take place at Henry Aldridge and Son Auctioneers of Devizes, Wilts.