They are royal stories Fleet Street would kill for - illegitimate children, bitter marital break-ups, even dubious personal hygiene.

The private lives and loves of the Royal Family are revealed in a collection of letters and notes never intended for public eyes.

However, the letter writers are unlikely to find themselves caught up in a tabloid scandal - most of them were written hundreds of years ago.

The collection has been amassed during 30 years by retired doctor Jon Evans, from Arundel.

Written in copperplate script, the letters give an absorbing insight into the lives of the Royal Family, landed gentry, leading politicians and celebrities.

The royal letters in particular reveal lax morals and scruples - or lack of them - and the lengths to which some went to cover up scandalous behaviour.

In one letter dated 1770, Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III, writes to a friend and asks that a woman "of his acquaintance" might be found accommodation abroad and speaks of her mother's involvement in the matter.

The married duke requests the woman be given an enclosed letter when she is alone and that the letter then be burnt. Although the word pregnancy is not mentioned, it is clear that is the issue.

There is also a passport letter from Caroline, Princess of Wales, who was the estranged second wife of the Prince Regent, asking for money.

Jon said: "After his marriage to the Roman Catholic Mrs Fitzherbert was declared illegal, he was told of a wealthy, German noblewoman, Caroline.

But when he met her she stank and the Prince called for brandy. He said he couldn't possibly marry the woman because she smelt so bad. However, his advisers convinced him that her money would help overcome the problem.

"They did marry, only slept together once and separated but she was pregnant. She then went to Rome and wrote demanding money be sent to her bankers without delay. The Royal Family would not agree to a divorce but she remained popular and was queen in name."

The letters also reveal wobbly literacy and questionable grammar for people so highly born.

The Duke of Gloucester, brother of George VI and Edward VIII, clearly never quite grasped basic grammar. When writing about himself he uses "i" instead of "I".

George III's sister-in-law Maria was also not averse to breaking the rules. When writing a thank-you letter for a gift of vases, she said: "I think 'em beautiful but the prettiest pair is broke. I hope however to get 'em patched up."

Sometimes the letters are filled with poignancy. One 20th Century example, on notepaper headed "By the King", says in spindly handwriting: "Tell them I am quite well."

It was one of his last communications. A short while later George V was dead.

Although he has since sold it, Jon once had a letter written by Lady Diana Spencer to a seven-year-old boy who had sent a picture of himself.

He said: "She replied on Buckingham Palace paper saying it was a delightful drawing and that she would keep it always. I sold it for £2,000 and it is back on the market for £3,000. What gives it its value is that it is signed Diana Spencer, rather than the Princess of Wales."

Jon, 86, began collecting 30 years ago by chance.

He bought some old newspapers from a junk stall and found hidden among them a letter from the Victorian actress Ellen Terry.

The retired homeopathic doctor said: "I couldn't afford to buy beautiful, wondrous paintings but I could buy letters and signatures and that is what I started doing.

"You can find out a lot about these people from books but they are filled with facts. The letters are personal and tell you much more about the person.

"With the royal ones, I feel I have got to know one family."

The walls of his study are lined with pictures of the great and good and underneath them their signatures. Among the names are Trotsky, Picasso and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

He has decanted most of his collection into large albums and, page by page, they provide small snapshots of history.

One is a note from Sir William Gull, physician to Queen Victoria and widely rumoured to be Jack the Ripper.

There is an intriguing letter signed by the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.

Jon said: "The letter is the will of a Joseph John Smith who died in 1950 but as to why it would have been signed by the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, I don't know. I hope to find out one day."

Although much of his collection is devoted to royalty, he also has many letters from political figures.

One is signed by the first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole.

Another is from the youngest prime minister, William Pitt, who apologies for being "sick and quite unfit to attend a pleasant party".

There is a letter written by Spencer Perceval, the only British prime minister to be assassinated, gunned down as he entered the House of Commons in 1812.

There are also notes and letters from prime ministers Palmerston, Gladstone, Campbell-Bannerman, Lloyd George, Churchill, Wilson, Heath, Eden, Thatcher, Major and Tony Blair.

Among the foreign leaders are Henry Kissinger, Indira Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Mussolini, Juan Peron, Napoleon and other celebrities like Buffalo Bill, William Cody.

Jon also has a penchant for theatre and has collected many letters and signatures from those in the limelight, including Lord Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Florence Desmond, Sarah Siddons, Dame Sybil Thorndike and Coronation Street's Betty Driver.

He also has a postcard sent to him by Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs. It says: "Wishing you my kind of luck."

There are scribblings from Agatha Christie and Sir John Betjeman. And he has manuscripts signed by Liszt and Ravel.

Among Jon's most prized possessions is a photograph taken in Siberia. In the picture, a group of men and women pose happily for the camera, a dog at their feet.

However, their cavalier attitude masks the blood on their hands. The group are Nihilists, late 19th Century terrorists. Each is responsible for atrocities. Jon believes the picture is unique.

Jon collects through dealers and verifies their authenticity through the age of the paper, watermark and comparisons with other handwriting.

He is still adding to his collection and would love to find something in the hand of Lord Nelson.

"It's an ever-lasting hunt - and it goes on."