For sale: lyrics to "Give Peace a Chance"

LONDON (Reuters) - John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for the hit song "Give Peace a Chance" will go under the hammer at auction in July and are expected to fetch 200-300,000 pounds ($400-600,000), Christie's said on Tuesday.

The lyrics are being sold by comedy writer and presenter Gail Renard, who was 16 when Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their famous "Bed-In" at a hotel in Montreal in 1969.

Renard and a friend sneaked into the Queen Elizabeth Hotel where the recently married Lennon and Ono were holding a protest for peace and became friendly with the couple.

According to Christie's, Lennon gave Renard some mementos, including the lyrics, telling her: "One day they will be worth something."

Lennon also helped launch Renard's early career as a writer by calling the editor of "The Beatles Monthly" magazine in London and instructing him to publish her piece about the bed-in.

During the "Bed-In" for peace in Montreal, which followed a similar stunt in Amsterdam, Lennon and Ono opened their doors to the world's media.

The highlight of the event came when Lennon led the recording of one of the world's most recognizable anthems "Give Peace a Chance".

When Lennon saw television footage of nearly half a million anti-Vietnam war protestors signing this song outside the White House in November 1969, he considered it to be "one of the biggest moments of my life", Christie's said.

The lyrics are being sold as part of Christie's Rock and Pop Memorabilia sale on July 10.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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