Princess Diana's bicycle for sale


Princess Diana’s bicycle for sale: Raleigh two-wheeler that aides said was ‘unfit’ for a senior Royal Family member is expected to fetch £20k at auction

  • Princess Diana rode 1970s Raleigh Traveller around London as a teenage nanny 
  • It was dubbed the ‘shame bike’ and sold as it was deemed ‘unfit for a princess’ 
  • Bike last sold for £9.000 in 2018 and now expected to fetch £20,000 at auction

It was a symbol of her youthful freedom – then of the restrictions she faced as she entered the Royal Family.

Now Princess Diana’s beloved 1970s blue bike, which she used to pedal around London as a single woman, is expected to fetch £20,000 at auction.

She used the 1970s Raleigh Traveller while she worked as a teenage nanny in Kensington before she married Prince Charles in 1981.

Princess Diana seen with the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry during a cycling trip in Tresco, the Isles of Scilly

Princess Diana seen with the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry during a cycling trip in Tresco, the Isles of Scilly

Princess Diana's beloved 1970s blue bike, which she used to pedal around London as a single woman, is expected to fetch £20,000 at auction

Princess Diana’s beloved 1970s blue bike, which she used to pedal around London as a single woman, is expected to fetch £20,000 at auction

However, it was dubbed the ‘shame bike’ and sold after Diana’s royal advisers deemed it ‘unfit for a princess’. 

She was ordered to stop riding it after the engagement was announced and quietly sold the cycle to a friend’s father. 

He stored it in a garage for 27 years before selling it in 2008 for just £211.

The three-gear bike, which has 26in wheels and the pump fitted to the frame, was last sold in 2018 for £9,200.

The three-gear bike, which has 26in wheels and the pump fitted to the frame, was last sold in 2018 for £9,200

The three-gear bike, which has 26in wheels and the pump fitted to the frame, was last sold in 2018 for £9,200

It will be auctioned online later this month by Sussex-based Burstow & Hewett. 

It said: ‘This item is a famous symbol of Diana’s oppression. Something she loved being taken away – and control over her public appearance.’

It added that demand for royal memorabilia had soared in recent years.  

Advertisement

Leave a Reply