Did you know Princess Diana drove a 1981 Ford Escort Ghia? Prince Charles gave the Ford Escort to Diana, Princess of Wales, as an engagement gift. Check out some of the photos of Diana and Charles out and about in the Escort back in the 80s. The owner had kept it a secret for 20 years before it went up for sale earlier this year.

Where is Princess Diana’s Ford Escort?

Princess Diana received the Ford Escort in May of 1981, according to CNN. As it was a wedding gift from Prince Charles, the pair married just two months later. This particular Escort was white, and photographers spotted the princess driving it throughout the year. According to the article, she only drove it for about a year.

According to Reeman Dansie, an auction house in the United Kingdom, the 1981 Escort was missing for over 20 years. It has not been seen since August of 1982, the last time Princess Diana was spotted driving it. “The Ford was Princess Diana’s personal transport in the early and happiest part of her relationship with the Prince of Wales,” Reeman Dansie noted. In addition to the vehicle itself, it came with a copy of a silver frog hood ornament. The original frog was a gift from Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah Spencer.

How much did Princess Diana’s Ford Escort go for?

The 1981 Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia came with the original registration number, silver paint, and blue velour upholstery. It had the original radio from 1981 as well. The Escort had 83,000 miles on the speedometer. All these years, an anonymous fan of Princess Diana stored the classic car in a secret location. She told the auction house that she wanted to preserve the car just as Diana had driven it.

The owner stored the vehicle and regularly maintained it over the years. The current owner registered the car through March of 2022. Her Royal Highness was regularly photographed in the cat watching Charles play polo. The auctioneer’s guessed that the Ford car would sell for between $41,500 and $55,400. It ended up selling for a total of $72,800.

Apparently, a museum in Chile, South America, purchased the vehicle. Princess Diana has quite the following in South America. Another museum in Chile purchased one of the first gowns that Diana wore for $263,000!

Other cars that Her Royal Highness drove

Princess Diana was spotted driving a variety of vehicles. The 1981 Ford Escort pictured here was just one of the vehicles. She also had a red Ford Escort Cabriolet she drove in 1984. Another one of her more famous cars was an emerald green 1994 Audi A4 Cabriolet. According to the listing on Classic Car Auctions, Princess Di put 4,000 miles on the A4 in just a month.

“For Audi, this was a huge public relations opportunity, the most photographed Princess driving one of their cars, they couldn’t have wished for more. Audi later reported that sales had doubled once Diana was seen driving the car,” the auction house noted. Almost everything Diana was linked to became immensely popular. She was one of the first celebrities that news outlets and people were obsessed with following. The sales price of classic cars she once drove, like the 1981 Ford Escort, is a testament to that.