Let’s say you’re next in line for the crown of England, you’ve just proposed to the love of your life (so far) after six months of whirlwind romance, and she said yes! What do you get the soon-to-be Princess to celebrate your engagement? A Rolls? A Bentley? A Jag? Um… how about a 1981 Ford Escort Ghia?
That’s right, this is the Ford Escort that Prince Charles bought Diana Spencer as an engagement present in the early ’80s. The car was recently offered at auction by Reeman Dansie.
Sporting the original license plate, the car has practically no modifications. Actually, there are some new speakers around back and a period but altered Ford head unit, but everything else is stock.
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The other notable modification has a little more royal history, though. On the hood (or bonnet, I guess), there’s a jumping frog ornament. It’s not original but is an exact replica of the ornament gifted to Diana by her sister to represent her fairytale romance. It suggests she kissed a frog and found a prince and I’m not sure how flattered I’d be by that if I was Prince Charles…
Although original, the car’s 40 years of age and 83,000 miles (133,576 km) of age do show. All things considered, though, it has held up well and the Ghia-specific equipment,such as the metal trim, the velour interior, and more, show well. This one, made specially to order, featured the big 1.6-liter engine that made 104 hp (105 PS/77.5 kW) and is coupled to a four-speed manual.
The car beat estimates, with the hammer falling at £47,000 ($65,000 USD). That’s, understandably, a little less than her other famous car, an Audi 80 Cabriolet that sold for £58,000 ($80,270 USD) last year, but not a bad haul considering that it is, after all, a 40-year-old Escort.