Eric Clapton, Pattie Boyd and George Harrison.Photo:David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage,  Kate Green/Getty, Lester Cohen/Getty

Eric Clapton, Pattie Boyd, George Harrison

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage,  Kate Green/Getty, Lester Cohen/Getty

The love letters ofEric ClaptonandPattie Boydwritten around the time of theirlove trianglewithThe Beatles’George Harrisonare set to be sold in an upcoming auction.

In one of theletters, which was dated four years into Boyd’s marriage to Harrison in 1970, Clapton questions Boyd about her love for her husband as he also asks her how she feels about him.

“I am writing this letter to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings towards a subject well known to both of us,” he wrote. “What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband? All these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!”

Eric Clapton with Patti Boyd.WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Clapton with girlfriend Patti Boyd

“Dear Layla,” Clapton began in the letter. “Why do you hesitate, am I a poor lover, am I ugly, am I too weak, too strong, do you know why? If you want me, take me, I am yours … if you don’t want me, please break the spell that binds me. To cage a wild animal is a sin, to tame him is divine. My love is yours.”

Pattie Boyd and George Harrison.Fox Photos/Getty Images

George Harrison (1943 - 2001), singer, songwriter and guitarist with The Beatles pictured with his wife, model Patti Boyd

Boyd met Harrison on the set of her first filmA Hard Day’s Nightin 1964. The pair tied the knot at a London Registry office on Jan. 21, 1966. According to her 2020 memoirPattie Boyd: My Life in Pictures, Boyd first took notice of her husband’s best friend, Clapton, soon after amid problems in their marriage.

As the pair grew close, Clapton wrote several love letters to Boyd. She eventually left Harrison for Clapton in 1974 and the pair married in 1979. The trio remained friends up until Harrison’s death in November 2001.

Speaking on the letters from Clapton now up for auction, Boyd said she initially thought they were from a “weird fan.”

“I had no idea it was from Eric,” she said, per Christie’s. “I even showed it to George! … I have kept the letter ever since in a little box filled with trinkets and things, and when I was writing my autobiography,Wonderful Today, I brought it out.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

source: people.com