Princess Diana’s Ford Escort sells for £52,640

Vehicle was an engagement gift to the Princess of Wales from Prince Charles before they were married

A Ford Escort that once belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales, has been sold at auction for £52,640 to a museum in South America.

The silver 1.6L Ghia saloon car was gifted to Diana by the Prince of Wales as an engagement present in May 1981, two months before they were married that July.

She frequently drove the car to watch Prince Charles play polo. The bonnet features a silver frog, a copy of the original mascot that was given to the princess by her sister Lady Sarah Spencer and which Diana kept when she sold the car.

The frog is said to have been a gift from Sarah to remind her “of the fairy tale of a beautiful girl whose kiss turns a frog into a Prince”.

A silver frog mascot sits on the bonnet of the Ford Escort that formerly belonged to Princess Diana (Reeman Dansie)

Diana stopped using the vehicle shortly after she gave birth to Prince William in 1982 and it was later bought by an antiques dealer for £6,000.

Since the year 2000, it has belonged to a fan of the royal family, who drove it sparingly and did not disclose its history to her friends.

The vehicle was sold on Tuesday in an online auction by Reeman Dansie, of Colchester, Essex, to a telephone bidder for £52,640.

The hammer price was £47,000, exceeding the pre-auction estimate of £30,000 to £40,000.

The car still carries its original registration, WEV 297W and has 83,000 miles on the clock. It also still has the original silver paint, blue velour upholstery, original radio, “just as the Princess would have known it when it was new”, said the auction house’s website.

Lewis Rabett, of the auction house, said the winning bid came from a museum in South America and the car will be shipped there.

“The interest has been considerable pre-auction,” he said. “Ending up in South America is testament to the level of interest globally that there’s been in the car.

“It’s also testament to Diana and her enduring legacy.”

The auction house confirmed the Royal provenance from the vehicle’s history file, registration number and numerous photographs of Princess Diana in the car, said a spokesperson.

Additional reporting by PA