Princess Diana’s £40,000 Ford Escort Up For Auction In Essex

Princess Diana’s 40-year-old Ford Escort car is up for auction in Essex with an asking price of £40,000 and it is expected to spark a bidding frenzy.

The silver Mk III Ghia, which is now 40 years old, was a gift from Prince Charles just weeks before their wedding in 1981. The young princess was often photographed driving it but she gave up the motor after Prince William was born in 1982.

The Escort was sold for £6,000 in 1995 to an antiques dealer, before it ended up in the hands of its current owner, Tina Kirkpatrick, who uses it as a second car.

In an interview with The Times, Ms Kirkpatrick said she bought it because she is a “big fan” of Princess Diana. But she usually did not share the car’s provenance with many people.

“I felt that its history and provenance were so unique and I didn’t want many people knowing,” she said.

The Ford Escort has 83,000 miles on the clock and will be sold by the Essex auction house Reeman Dansie, The Express added.

David Emanuel, 68, who co-designed the dress worn by Princess Diana in St Paul’s Cathedral, recently said Diana was “global icon of style, beauty and compassion”.

“When I first met her, she was a teenager and she turned into this extraordinary woman. She was a global icon of style, beauty and compassion and that’s how the public loved her. She was a philanthropist, she cared, and that’s why people adored her.

“All those memories come back, she was fun and full of life, and once those blue eyes set on you, it was all over,” he added.

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