'Last' Titanic letter sells for world-record £119,000 at auction

The letter was written on RMS Titanic stationary. Credit: Henry Aldridge and Son/PA Wire

The last letter known to have been written on the Titanic has sold for a world-record £119,000 at auction.

The letter was penned by second class passenger Esther Hart just hours before the liner struck an iceberg on Sunday April 14, 1912.

Auctioneers said the £119,000 price tag has shattered the previous record for a Titanic-related letter, which was £94,000.

The letter, headed "On board RMS 'Titanic'", comes complete with an envelope embossed with the White Star Line flag.

In the letter Mrs Hart, who was travelling with her daughter and well-known survivor Eva Hart, talks about being ill while on board the ill-fated New York-bound liner.

She writes:

Some 1,500 passengers and crew lost their lives in the tragedy, including Mrs Hart's husband Benjamin.

Mrs Hart and Eva were among those rescued by HMS Carpathia.