Princess Diana's 1981 Ford Escort Ghia Sells At Auction For $65,000
Let's say you're next in line for the crown of England, you've just proposed to the love of your life (so far) after six months of whirlwind romance, and she said yes! What do you get the soon-to-be Princess to celebrate your engagement? A Rolls? A Bentley? A Jag? Um... how about a 1981 Ford Escort Ghia?
That's right, this is the Ford Escort that Prince Charles bought Diana Spencer as an engagement present in the early '80s. The car was recently offered at auction by Reeman Dansie.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzQR99uynCI
Sporting the original license plate, the car has practically no modifications. Actually, there are some new speakers around back and a period but altered Ford head unit, but everything else is stock.
The other notable modification has a little more royal history, though. On the hood (or bonnet, I guess), there's a jumping frog ornament. It's not original but is an exact replica of the ornament gifted to Diana by her sister to represent her fairytale romance. It suggests she kissed a frog and found a prince and I'm not sure how flattered I'd be by that if I was Prince Charles...
Although original, the car's 40 years of age and 83,000 miles (133,576 km) of age do show. All things considered, though, it has held up well and the Ghia-specific equipment,such as the metal trim, the velour interior, and more, show well. This one, made specially to order, featured the big 1.6-liter engine that made 104 hp (105 PS/77.5 kW) and is coupled to a four-speed manual.
The car beat estimates, with the hammer falling at £47,000 ($65,000 USD). That's, understandably, a little less than her other famous car, an Audi 80 Cabriolet that sold for £58,000 ($80,270 USD) last year, but not a bad haul considering that it is, after all, a 40-year-old Escort.
Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2021/06/princess-dianas-1981-ford-escort-ghia-sells-at-auction-for-65000/
Quote from: cawimmer430 on June 30, 2021, 11:32:38 AM
Princess Diana's 1981 Ford Escort Ghia Sells At Auction For $65,000
Let's say you're next in line for the crown of England, you've just proposed to the love of your life (so far) after six months of whirlwind romance, and she said yes! What do you get the soon-to-be Princess to celebrate your engagement? A Rolls? A Bentley? A Jag? Um... how about a 1981 Ford Escort Ghia?
That's right, this is the Ford Escort that Prince Charles bought Diana Spencer as an engagement present in the early '80s.
No wonder she divorced him.
Quote from: SJ_GTI on June 30, 2021, 11:40:51 AM
No wonder she divorced him.
Bah, I think it's awesome. Perhaps it was her favorite car and he made it happen, image be damned.
Her plan all along was to divorce him, a la the coming catastrophe for Mr. Markle.
Quote from: GoCougs on June 30, 2021, 12:09:38 PM
Her plan all along was to divorce him, a la the coming catastrophe for Mr. Markle.
Nahh. I think he was smitten by her beauty and she was stoked to be the world's most famous princess. Then after bedding her several times, it got old for him and their age difference and personality difference made them incompatible. So he went for Camilla and she rebelled against the stuffy aristocracy by fooling around with a Pakistani ethnicity heart surgeon, an Egyptian billionaire, etc etc.
I had a 1983 Escort with a M/T. Drove the crap out of it. It put me down once at 12K when the distributor came apart. My ex and I were chased down a mountain road (long story) by a couple of rednecks in a Chevy truck. The Escort killed on tight curves even with street tires, but the truck could catch us on the straights. We came upon some guys parked along the road and the Chevy made U-turn and beat it.
I could rev the shit out of that motor though and it never broke.
Quote from: JWC on July 01, 2021, 12:39:05 PM
I had a 1983 Escort with a M/T. Drove the crap out of it. It put me down once at 12K when the distributor came apart. My ex and I were chased down a mountain road (long story) by a couple of rednecks in a Chevy truck. The Escort killed on tight curves even with street tires, but the truck could catch us on the straights. We came upon some guys parked along the road and the Chevy made U-turn and beat it.
I could rev the shit out of that motor though and it never broke.
Dude you're practically a Princess. Owned an Escort, got chased by people.
You should call up the Queen and stake your claim.
Quote from: veeman on June 30, 2021, 04:13:21 PM
Nahh. I think he was smitten by her beauty and she was stoked to be the world's most famous princess. Then after bedding her several times, it got old for him and their age difference and personality difference made them incompatible. So he went for Camilla and she rebelled against the stuffy aristocracy by fooling around with a Pakistani ethnicity heart surgeon, an Egyptian billionaire, etc etc.
Charles and Camilla were an item years before he met Diana. Their first relationship in the 1970s came apart after he was sent overseas (military assignment, I think) and then he met Diana some years later and we know where that ended up.
Quote from: CaminoRacer on July 01, 2021, 01:03:50 PM
Dude you're practically a Princess. Owned an Escort, got chased by people.
You should call up the Queen and stake your claim.
LOL....I didn't realize that.
This is the road. It is interesting how populated this road is 35 years later. It was very remote except for a few ranches and a restaurant at the apex. George Foreman used to live off this road. I have even camped at the creek below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXyNzMy55j4
Quote from: veeman on June 30, 2021, 04:13:21 PM
Nahh. I think he was smitten by her beauty and she was stoked to be the world's most famous princess. Then after bedding her several times, it got old for him and their age difference and personality difference made them incompatible. So he went for Camilla and she rebelled against the stuffy aristocracy by fooling around with a Pakistani ethnicity heart surgeon, an Egyptian billionaire, etc etc.
I'm sure that all happened. ANY woman attractive and manipulative enough to land a prince is a predator (as are Harry's and William's wives), even if she doesn't think she is. It's a huge lesson for us mere mortal men.
Quote from: GoCougs on July 03, 2021, 09:33:25 AM
I'm sure that all happened, but nonetheless, she was a predator, even if she didn't think she was, even at the innocent age of 20. ANY woman attractive and manipulative enough to land a prince is (as are Harry's and William's wives). It's a huge lesson for us mere mortals.
Diana was part of the British nobility (her father was an Earl, a title now held by her brother, and one of her older sisters married a Baron) and thus would have been in the same social circle as royal family and other members of the titled nobility. Hardly part of the "mere mortal" class. Charles dated her older sister for a time.
I disagree with the assertion that Diana was the predator and Charles the prey. He's much older and she came from great wealth. To me it's very similar to Kennedy/Bouvier. Both wealthy and of high social circle, big difference in age, lots of infidelity going on.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQK2d1TdTzk
Quote from: MX793 on July 03, 2021, 09:48:19 AM
Diana was part of the British nobility (her father was an Earl, a title now held by her brother, and one of her older sisters married a Baron) and thus would have been in the same social circle as royal family and other members of the titled nobility. Hardly part of the "mere mortal" class. Charles dated her older sister for a time.
YOU are the mortal.
Quote from: Submariner on July 03, 2021, 02:21:01 PM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQK2d1TdTzk
Hitch did not hold back.
Wow. It's been almost ten years since the old chap died.
Markle is the distilled essence of the stereotype of her generation: low intellect, shallowness, entitlement & narcissism.
Her useful-idiot husband married his mother.
She married literally the richest, most powerful and most eligible bachelor in the known universe, and she still managed to play victim. Mr. Markle of course played his part in succumbing (like many rich men, he never had to truly navigate the ways of women), but still.
I give Harry credit for founding and promoting the Invictus games. Of course he would have had a lot of help, but it was his inspiration.
Quote from: GoCougs on July 06, 2021, 07:31:33 PM
She married literally the richest, most powerful and most eligible bachelor in the known universe, and she still managed to play victim. Mr. Markle of course played his part in succumbing (like many rich men, he never had to truly navigate the ways of women), but still.
Harry is worth 40 million, so hardly the richest. Also not 1st in line for the crown (4th at the time of his marriage, now 6th). Not to mention that the crown in Britain doesn't wield much power. The role of the Royals is pretty much symbolic, they don't actually rule the country.
The queen is still head of the military. The PM and cabinet is the traditional source of military orders, but the queen (or king) is supreme authority so to speak and can issue orders to the chain of command and can (as I understand it) override the PM if so desired.
The UK needs the royal family, or at the very least gets a lot out of them. The royals may not have a lot of legal authority over the nation but they have tremendous cultural power. And being an English prince (or princess, or whatever) basically grants you a life of enormous wealth and celebrity. America literally fought a war to get away from the monarchy, and now we gobble up the royals as if they were our own (in many ways, they are, given the inexorable cultural, economic, military and historical ties between us Yanks and the Brits).
And to Cougs point, it really is something to behold how the sociopathic, manipulative Megan Markle managed to convince the world to feel sorry for her. However it seems as if she overplayed her hand a bit. She would have been better off playing the sweet sister-in-law to the future King.
This is why Carspin never has women posters.
Quote from: CaminoRacer on July 07, 2021, 09:24:24 AM
This is why Carspin never has women posters.
:lol:
I mean seriously, I don't follow this stuff but how the heck are the guys above making some specific claims about the mindset of these women. Maybe they are right, but maybe they really did fall in love with the guys. Its not like Megan Markle was some poor waitress before she met the prince, she was rich and famous in her own right already. :huh:
I'm just shocked they keep up on the British royalty like that.
Quote from: CaminoRacer on July 07, 2021, 09:24:24 AM
This is why Carspin never has women posters.
Lol, but MM is an outwardly manipulative and nasty person. And it's not as if there aren't textbooks full of male royals with severe character flaws. Just look at Prince Andrew for example.
One doesn't need to spend any real time figuring this out. I'm not very interested in the royal family but the media makes sure we yanks get our daily dose of the drama one way or another. It's hard not to get at least a superficial glimpse of what is going on unless you actively ignore the news. Even relatively decent non-legacy sources do a piece on them now and then.
As for MM...she became a household name and superstar only after getting involved with the royal family. She had nowhere near the profile she did before. Was she ever featured on the cover of every tabloid in the nation, or the feature of untold numbers of morning talk-garbage news shows when she wasn't associated with them?
The Markles come across as incredibly petty. The cultural significance of the British Monarchy is huge and the amount the monarchy contributes to British tourism and economy (tabloid readership etc) is likely much higher than what is appreciated. Besides it's a vestige of the old British empire and makes Britons feel great about themselves.
The Markles threw that all away because of pettiness. Diana and Charles didn't get along. Here someone wore a faux pas brooch, someone said some racist things, someone made negative comments about bridesmaids dresses, etc. Just normal extended family stuff and they walked away because of it. Good for them. Reap the consequences (mega celebrity and riches to minor celebrity and less riches). I'm glad the Queen basically told them to fuck off and did it in a way where she didn't get cancelled herself. Brilliant move on her part to navigate the hyper cancel culture successfully.
Quote from: veeman on July 07, 2021, 10:15:28 AM
The Markles come across as incredibly petty. The cultural significance of the British Monarchy is huge and the amount the monarchy contributes to British tourism and economy (tabloid readership etc) is likely much higher than what is appreciated. Besides it's a vestige of the old British empire and makes Britons feel great about themselves.
The Markles threw that all away because of pettiness. Diana and Charles didn't get along. Here someone wore a faux pas brooch, someone said some racist things, someone made negative comments about bridesmaids dresses, etc. Just normal extended family stuff and they walked away because of it. Good for them. Reap the consequences (mega celebrity and riches to minor celebrity and less riches). I'm glad the Queen basically told them to fuck off and did it in a way where she didn't get cancelled herself. Brilliant move on her part to navigate the hyper cancel culture successfully.
Given that the likelihood that Harry would ever wear the crown went to nil as soon as William had kids, he was bound to fade into obscurity anyway unless he actively tried to keep himself in the spotlight. How much do you hear about any of Charles' siblings these days? Or how about William and Harry's royal cousins (half of which are also princes/princesses)? The further back you go in line for the crown, the less people care.
Quote from: MX793 on July 07, 2021, 10:31:27 AM
Given that the likelihood that Harry would ever wear the crown went to nil as soon as William had kids, he was bound to fade into obscurity anyway unless he actively tried to keep himself in the spotlight. How much do you hear about any of Charles' siblings these days? Or how about William and Harry's royal cousins (half of which are also princes/princesses)? The further back you go in line for the crown, the less people care.
It's not about actually wearing the crown. The British, Americans, and millions of others eat the soap opera of the British monarchy up and Harry and whomever his spouse would be would be the #2 couple. Celebrity equivalent to a handful of A list actors/singers. Prince Andrew's former wife, Sarah Ferguson, was a huge celebrity while she was married. Not Princess Diana celebrity but a famous wealthy celebrity nonetheless.
If the Markles wanted nothing to do with that, good for them. But don't complain about being cut off (no paid multimillion dollar security and countless other perks) if you ditch the responsibilities of being a high profile member of the family.
Quote from: veeman on July 07, 2021, 10:15:28 AM
The Markles come across as incredibly petty. The cultural significance of the British Monarchy is huge and the amount the monarchy contributes to British tourism and economy (tabloid readership etc) is likely much higher than what is appreciated. Besides it's a vestige of the old British empire and makes Britons feel great about themselves.
The Markles threw that all away because of pettiness. Diana and Charles didn't get along. Here someone wore a faux pas brooch, someone said some racist things, someone made negative comments about bridesmaids dresses, etc. Just normal extended family stuff and they walked away because of it. Good for them. Reap the consequences (mega celebrity and riches to minor celebrity and less riches). I'm glad the Queen basically told them to fuck off and did it in a way where she didn't get cancelled herself. Brilliant move on her part to navigate the hyper cancel culture successfully.
It's really the British gutter press (tabloids) that blows all of this out of proportion...and
Piers Morgan. (https://www.insider.com/piers-morgan-meghan-markle-relationship-interview-timeline) What a whiner...just because Meghan dumped him.
Quote from: MX793 on July 06, 2021, 08:26:44 PM
Harry is worth 40 million, so hardly the richest. Also not 1st in line for the crown (4th at the time of his marriage, now 6th). Not to mention that the crown in Britain doesn't wield much power. The role of the Royals is pretty much symbolic, they don't actually rule the country.
Ask our Canadian friends now much power the Crown has (in Canada)...
Quote from: GoCougs on July 07, 2021, 02:09:48 PM
Ask our Canadian friends now much power the Crown has (in Canada)...
Effectively, none, ceremonially, a waste of money, though our new Governor General, being of the First Nations, does add a measure of significance to the role, especially with all the graves of missing children from residential schools now being discovered.
Quote from: FoMoJo on July 07, 2021, 02:20:27 PM
Effectively, none, ceremonially, a waste of money, though our new Governor General, being of the First Nations, does add a measure of significance to the role, especially with all the graves of missing children from residential schools now being discovered.
Nope ;). The Queen's all over your money for a reason - she's literally the Queen of Canada and can raise hell at her choosing.
(https://www.leftovercurrency.com/app/uploads/2017/04/20-canadian-dollars-banknote-frontier-series-obverse-1.jpg)
Quote from: GoCougs on July 07, 2021, 10:18:42 PM
Nope ;). The Queen's all over your money for a reason - she's literally the Queen of Canada and can raise hell at her choosing.
(https://www.leftovercurrency.com/app/uploads/2017/04/20-canadian-dollars-banknote-frontier-series-obverse-1.jpg)
As with England, the monarch doesn't actually rule Canada. She ceremonially appoints the Governor General at the PM's advisement (basically a rubber stamp approval of whomever the PM recommends). All laws are made by Parliament without any input or sign off by the Crown. The Canadian Constitution permits amendments that affect the role of the Crown (which includes the Gov General) to be passed without any authorization or consent from the Crown.
It would actually be interesting to see what would happen if the queen did try to "rule."
Braveheart 2: Revenge of the Royals.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on July 08, 2021, 06:34:11 AM
It would actually be interesting to see what would happen if the queen did try to "rule."
We'd simply tell her bot bugger off.
There are advantages to be part of the Commonwealth as far as shared interests are concerned.
Quote from: FoMoJo on July 08, 2021, 11:24:23 AM
We'd simply tell her bot bugger off.
There are advantages to be part of the Commonwealth as far as shared interests are concerned.
Then you guys need to amend if not upend your constitution ;). The Queen as stated by law could raise holy hell in Canada. It's only that she doesn't want to that it doesn't happen.
Quote from: GoCougs on July 08, 2021, 11:35:52 AM
Then you guys need to amend if not upend your constitution ;). The Queen as stated by law could raise holy hell in Canada. It's only that she doesn't want to that it doesn't happen.
Titular, at best.
Anyone else notice that Monica lent Megs her dress for the interview with Big Oprah?
(https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1098,format=auto/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/canvas/2021/03/09/c5eb7b0a-a668-4697-91e8-8ea90906d606_79551054.jpg)
Sounds about right, she not doing it correctly, if at all. Poor Mr. Markle. That poor, poor bastard.
Quote from: Morris Minor on July 10, 2021, 10:22:13 AM
Anyone else notice that Monica lent Megs her dress for the interview with Big Oprah?
It took me a moment to process that. :lol: