A priceless piece of Princess Diana’s childhood will debut at auction this week.
A bright red Tracker bicycle, manufactured by Trust Manufacturing Co., belonged to the late royal in the 1970s when a young Lady Spencer would ride around her family’s estate in Althorp.
It was once owned by the Spencers’ housekeeper, Maudie Pendrey, after she purchased it from Diana’s parents for only £20, according to Bristol Live, as a memento of her time with the family during Di’s childhood.
The bike was later sold by Pendrey’s son in 2007, after Pendrey’s death in 2006, for display at the House On The Hill Toy Museum in Stansted, where it has since remained, according to the lot description online.
The bike will be sold with a handwritten Christmas card from the Princes of Wales to Maudie, dated 1994.
“It’s a really important piece of memorabilia,” said toy specialist Lucy McCourt of the bicycle — a replica of the ubiquitous Raleigh Chopper bike, and said to be in excellent condition.
East Bristol Auctions is expected to fetch between $28,000 and $41,000 (£20,000 to £30,000) on July 24, at their quarterly Specialist Toy Collectors Auction.
Per Bristol Live, McCourt also said in a statement, “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-the-mill child’s bicycle!”
“One can almost imagine the young Diana riding around her childhood country estate on this,” she continued.
Princess Diana died in 1997 at the age of 36 following a fatal car crash that occurred during an attempt to flee the paparazzi in Paris.
“There is naturally a tinge of sadness to [the bike] also,” McCourt added.
