SUPERYACHT WHERE DIANA WEATHERED A STORM SELLS FOR JUST £171,000
THE luxury yacht which Dodi Fayed used to entertain Princess Diana during their last summer together has been auctioned off in a cut-price £171,000 deal.
The 66ft status symbol was mothballed after the pair’s death on August 31, 1997, but took to the water again three years ago after a £700,000 refurbishment.
News of the cut-price sale – for a boat which also hosted stars including Brooke Shields, Clint Eastwood, Brucewillis, Robert Downey Jr,winona Ryder, and Tony Curtis – surprised many.
Royal author Margaret Holder said last night: “We will never know whether Diana and Dodi would have married.
“Diana would say different things to different people.
“But it is a shame that this historic boat didn’t attract a higher bid as a remarkable souvenir of the last days of Diana’s life.
“Not long ago one could have expected a bidding war between wealthy Diana fans.
“I hope this isn’t a sign that memories of her unique allure are fading.”
The boat, called Cujo, was originally commissioned by entrepreneur and socialite John Van Neumann and could hit top speeds of up to 40 knots.
When he tired of it he sold it to Mohamed Kashoggi, son of the
Saudi billionaire Adnan – who then passed it on to his cousin, Dodi.
For years he used it as a base for extravagant parties, mainly at Sttropez, France.
But all that changed when he met the Princess ofwales in 1997, just a year after her divorce from Prince Charles. Diane and Dodi became inseparable and they were pictured on deck, as public speculation mounted over whether they would marry.
The pair died in Paris when their car crashed at high speed in a tunnel, also killing their chauffeur Henri Paul, 41.