Billionaire Tang’s widow forced to sell off royal gifts
He WAS described as a billionaire socialite and counted the earl of Snowdon, Tracey emin and Kate Moss among his pals. But the fortunes of entrepreneur Sir David Tang, who died last year aged 63 and lived, until comparatively recently, in a house in Belgravia — london’s most expensive enclave — were in a parlous state.
Quite how parlous is made plain by the auction of his property at christie’s tomorrow, sanctioned by his 50-year-old widow, lucy.
The sale of 74 lots includes personal gifts from the Royal Family. Tang befriended the Prince of Wales and Duchess of cornwall, and among the lots is a silver pill-box, made by cartier, styled as an envelope and engraved with the Prince of Wales’s feathers and inscribed with his motto, ‘ich Dien’ (meaning, ‘i Serve’).
However, it is frowned upon by the Royal Family for recipients, and their heirs, to sell gifts on the open market. it’s especially piquant because Tang, besides being a keen gambler, was a self-appointed etiquette expert and author of Rules For Modern life.
The pill-box is lumped together in the same lot with another present from the Duchess of York. This is a