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One of the earliest known letters penned by Napoleon Bonaparte has sold for more than £52,000. ($60,000)

The future French emperor was just 16-years-old when he wrote to his school headmaster in Aix-en-Provence in 1785.

The prodigious teen had already been appointed second lieutenant of an artillery regiment at the Valence barracks.

It appears Napoleon's parents may have held concerns at him being thrust into this position of responsibility at a callow age.