Di’s brother to sell off family treasure
By ANITuesday, March 30, 2010
LONDON - Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer has decided to sell off family heirlooms.
The royalty hopes to secure the future of his family’s Althorp estate by raising up to 30 million pounds through the auction.
Spencer will clear out the attic cupboards at the ancestral home in Northamptonshire and the Spencer House, the family home in St James’s.
The items include paintings, furniture, porcelain and horse-drawn carriages.
The trustees of Althorp said they had decided to sell items which were “not core” to the collection.
“Their aim is to help the Althorp estate to thrive for generations to come,” the Daily Express quoted them as saying in a statement.
However, Spencer had criticized his 80-year-old former stepmother Raine for selling off family heirlooms when she was chatelaine of Althorp.
The objects to go under the hammer include masterpiece King David, by Baroque artist Il Guercino, which is expected to raise 5 million pounds to 8 million pounds.
The Christie’s sale is scheduled to take place in London on July 6. (ANI)
