Princess Diana’s car given to her by Prince Charles sells for $ 72,000

(CNN) – A car that Prince Charles gave to the Princess Diana as an engagement gift it was Auctioned for more than £ 52,000 (US $ 72,000).The 1981 Ford Escort Ghia sold for about $ 30,000 more than the lower expected price range.

According to the auctioneer’s estimate, the car could fetch between £ 30,000 and £ 40,000 (US $ 41,500 and US $ 55,400). Including fees, the final sale price was £ 52,640 (US $ 72,800).

Prince Charles gifted the car to Diana in May 1981, two months before the couple’s wedding, according to auctioneers Reeman Dansie.

The young princess drove the vehicle until August 1982.

The car was sold Tuesday with its original license plate, paint and radio.

The car’s speedometer reads approximately 133,575 kilometers.

“The Ford was Princess Diana’s personal transport in the initial and happiest part of her relationship with the Prince of Wales and there are numerous photographs of her driving it and even of her watching the prince playing polo, sitting inside it”, Reeman Dansie’s statement says.

The auctioneers said the anonymous seller was a woman who was a huge fan of Diana and had kept the car’s real roots a secret even from her friends.

The vehicle has a silver frog on the hood. Credit: Joe Giddens / Press Association via AP Images

The Ford vehicle sports a silver frog on the hood, a copy of a gift from Diana’s sister, Sarah Spencer.

Reeman Dansie said the gift was to remind Diana of “the fairy tale of a beautiful girl whose kiss turns a frog into a prince.”

It’s not the first time that a Diana vehicle has sold for an impressive sum – her Audi convertible sold last year for £ 58,000 (US $ 80,300).