Diana’s childhood bike set to fetch £30k at auction
PRINCESS Diana’s childhood bicycle is up for auction in Bristol. A 1970s red Tracker bike, ridden by Diana during the 1970s at the Spencer family estate in Northamptonshire, is expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 at auction this month.
East Bristol Auctions will offer the bike in their specialist Toy Collectors Auction next Saturday, July 24.
The bicycle, which was made by the Trusty Manufacturing Co, is described as ‘an exceptional piece of royalty memorabilia, with excellent provenance.’
Diana’s father, the late 8th Earl Spencer, eventually sold his daughter’s bike at an auction for £20 to housekeeper Maudie Pendrey, who kept it as a memento.
It was acquired by a toy museum in Essex in 2007 after the housekeeper died in 2006.
The red two-wheeler is similar in design to the classic Raleigh ‘Chopper’ bicycle – one of the most pop
It’s a really important piece of memorabilia – Diana was the ‘People’s Princess,’ and this is a chance to own a personal piece of her history. This is far from just a run-of-themill child’s bicycle!
Toy specialist Lucy McCourt
ular toys of the 1970s. Every child wanted one, so it’s no surprise that the popularity extended to those of future Royal fame.
The cycle retains all of its original features, including saddle, tyres and chrome mudguards.
It also comes with a Christmas card dated 1994 that Diana sent to Maudie Pendrey.
Toy specialist Lucy McCourt said: “It’s a really important piece of memorabilia – Diana was the ‘People’s Princess,’ and this is a chance to own a personal piece of her history.
“This is far from just a run-ofthe-mill child’s bicycle!”
She added: “One can almost imagine the young Diana riding around her childhood country estate on this.
“And there is naturally a tinge of sadness to it also.”
It comes only weeks after Princess Diana’s former car was sold for more than had been anticipated at auction.
A Ford Escort that was once given to the Princess as an engagement gift was bought by a museum in South America for £52,640.
Three months ago, another bike previously owned by the Princess was also sold at auction.
She used to pedal around London as a single woman on the beloved 1970s blue Raleigh Traveller bike while she worked as a teenage nanny in Kensington before she married Prince Charles in 1981. It fetched £44,000.