Prince Charles’s former Bentley will soon go up for auction, where it is expected to fetch between £12,000 and £14,000.
H&H Auctions will auction the formerly royal vehicle at the Imperial War Museum in Oxfordshire on 17 October. The car, which Prince Charles had newly registered on 31 December 1994, has had two owners in the time since.
James McWilliam, a Classic Sales Specialist at H&H Auctions, noted that there were two interesting cars up for auction at the upcoming sale, the one owned by Prince Charles and another belonging to Diana Dors, a singer and actress.
“Both of these cars come trailing interest and intrigue,” he said in an interview with The Courier. “One can only wonder who sat on these seats beside the famous owners, where they went and what the conversations might have been?”
Of Prince Charles’s Bentley, McWilliam noted that “Prince Charles and Princess Diana married in July 1981, separated in 1982, and divorced in 1996. So, this Bentley would have been owned by Prince Charles during the time that his life was moving into a new phase, post-Diana.”
The Bentley, an L881 DNP, will be auctioned with its full maintenance history, along with its handbooks and service books. According to H&H Auctions, it was last serviced in June 2018, contains a 6.75-litre V8 turbo petrol engine, and has clocked over 141,000 miles. The car is valid to drive until July 2019.
“There is more to this long wheelbase Bentley Turbo R than meets the eye,” the H&H Auction listing notes, “as it was built to the special order of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. It is finished in the pleasing combination of Brewster Green bodywork and Mushroom-coloured hide interior trim.”
The Bentley has special alterations to Prince Charles’s request, including a supply and fit blue lamp, rear seat cushions that can be lowered, a fixed sunroof, rear reading lights, removable front headrests, among others.
The starting bid on the Bentley is £6,000.
