A collection of items from Princess Diana’s childhood are set to go up for auction.
In an auction to be held next week, a collection belonging to the late royal – who tragically died 20 years ago when she was involved in a fatal car crash in Paris, France, aged 36 – is expected to include clothes, letters, and other personal possessions.
The generous Princess gave the items to two of her employees – Sheila Tilley, the senior housemaid at Kensington Palace, and Sally Fell, the head chef at the Spencer’s Althorp family home – who are now putting the items up for auction.
Included in the poignant collection is a signed photo ID card from a dance school she attended in London’s Covent Garden, as well as two handwritten French vocabulary books she used as a 17-year-old whilst at Swiss finishing school.
There will also be a Harrods’ hacking jacket worn by a young Princess Diana – who was formerly Lady Diana Spencer before tying the knot with Prince Charles in 1981 – as well as glittering evening bags used in a range of events.
The items are set to go under the hammer at Reeman Dansie’s Royal memorabilia sale in Colchester on June 20, where one of Diana’s silver-plated evening bags is expected to fetch £300.
A passage about royal auctions on the auctioneers website reads: "We have significant experience in cataloguing large collections, as well as single items of Royal memorabilia which have been specifically sent to us from all over the world. Our specialist James Grinter has the expertise to appreciate the importance of smaller items within Royal collections (such as Princess Diana’s school rubber which sold for £500) and identify how best to sell these items."
One of the most expensive items in the collection is the photo ID card, which auctioneers believe will fetch between £500 and £700, an estimate they have also put on the Harrods jacket, as well as a handwritten letter from Diana aged 18, in which she sends her "enormous thanks" after Christmas.
The two French books are expected to bring in £200 to £300 each, as will an unseen snapshot of a smiling 18-year-old Diana.
Princess Diana collection to be auctioned
