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Leather handbag made especially for Princess Diana has sold at auction for £8,600, along with a handwritten note to the woman she donated the year before her death
- A designer leather handbag made for Princess Diana has sold for £8,600
- The crocodile leather bag was designed by the renowned fashion house Lana Marks
- Diana was such a fan of the iconic bag that it became known as the ‘Diana bag’
- A handwritten letter from Diana on Kensington Palace stationery is included
A designer leather handbag made especially for Princess Diana has sold for £8,600, along with one of her handwritten letters on Kensington Palace-headed paper.
The iconic bag, made of crocodile leather, was designed in the 1990s by the famous fashion house Lana Marks for the late Princess of Wales and was such a favorite of the royal that she bought 15 of them.
Understandably, the accessory became known as the “Diana bag.”
This particular bag was gifted by Diana to Chrisanthy Lemos, the wife of a Greek shipping magnate, after she admired it at a dinner party.
A designer leather handbag made especially for Princess Diana has sold for £8,600, along with a handwritten letter from Diana on Kensington Palace writing paper
It was sold by the Lemos family at Reeman Dansie Auctioneers in Colchester, Essex, along with a handwritten letter from Diana on Kensington Palace writing paper to Chrisanthy.
Diana’s note thanked her friend for helping her survive the media spotlight during her trip to Greece for the funeral of Giannis Kaliviotis, whom she befriended during her stay at Brompton Hospital.
She wrote: ‘This comes with my dearest love and very special thanks from Diana.’
A handwritten letter from Diana on Kensington Palace stationery to Chrisanthy is also included in the lot
The bag was designed by renowned fashion house Lana Marks for the Princess of Wales in the 1990s
The chic black handbag, which is made of crocodile leather, measures 11 by 7 inches with a buckle to secure the opening
It was written in September 1996, a month after Diana finalized her divorce from then-Prince Charles and a year before her death in a car accident in Paris.
The chic black handbag measures 11 by 7 inches with a buckle to secure the opening.
Auctioneer James Grinter said: ‘This handbag was made especially for her by Lana Marks and she liked it so much that she bought 15 of them.
This design became so strongly associated with her that it became known as the ‘Diana bag’.
Diana looked quintessentially elegant in a blue suit designed by fashion designer Chanel and a bag by Lana Marks in April 1997
“We thought this sale would do well because of its lasting legacy around the world.
‘The bag was in fantastic condition and the chance to own something the princess had had was irresistible to collectors.
“There was worldwide interest in this sale, especially from the UK, US and Australia.
“It was eventually bought by an American private collector who is very happy to add it to their collection.”
Lana Marks was a personal friend of Diana, and according to the designer, the two women had planned a four-day trip to Italy at the end of August 1997.
Lana Marks, pictured with Princess Diana in 1997, said she still felt the pain of her boyfriend’s passing, years after the horrific accident that shook the world
But Miss Marks canceled at the last minute when her father suffered a heart attack and Diana instead went to Paris with her partner Dodi Fayed – where they died in a car accident.
Speak with The sun in 2017 she said, “It was a terrible time. I would be on vacation with Diana in Milan at the time.
“We were going to go to Lake Como before flying back. I felt bad because she had a loose end. I still feel the pain of everything.
“I’m constantly thinking, ‘What if she had been with me?’ None of that might have happened.’
Miss Marks said she still felt the pain of her friend’s death years after the horrific accident that shook the world.