Princess Margaret’s bespoke riding boots sold for nearly £7,000 as a private collection was auctioned for £270,000, nearly three times its pre-sale estimate.
The brown leather boots, which were made by royal equestrian bootmakers Maxwell of London and had an estimate of between £300 and £500, were knocked down for £6,930, at the Dreweatts sale on Tuesday (9 April).
Joe Robinson, head of house sales and collections at Dreweatts, said: “We are delighted with the result of the auction of the private collection of Serena, Countess of Snowdon. We saw competitive bidding from around the world for works connected to the royal family and those supplied by many of the UK’s renowned design figures and companies, such as Hugh Henry, David Mlinaric, Robert Kime and Rita Konig. This high demand for works of exceptional provenance resulted in a 95% sell rate and as a result the sale far exceeded its total estimate.”
The riding boots were a highlight of the sale; the blocks were stamped HRH Princess Margaret, and they came with cases, boot pulls and riding whips. The princess rode from childhood, along with her older sister The late Queen.
Other royal items in the sale included a watercolour and pencil picture of the ancient wooden coronation chair, commissioned in 1926 by Edward I and on which British monarchs sit during their coronations. This had an estimate of between £100 and £150 but sold for £1,512. A decorative boomerang curtain commissioned by Lady Cutler, the wife of the governor of New South Wales Sir Roden Cutler, for Princess Margaret sold for over double its estimate, £2,142 compared to £800-£1,200.
Mr Robinson said: “Dreweatts is pleased to have had the honour of being entrusted with finding these items new homes. The last few years has seen a renewed interest in iconic figures, thanks to television programmes such as The Crown. This has further added to the mystique and public perception of people like Princess Margaret, who are appreciated for their sense of style, forthright manner and contribution to public life.”
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