hellomagazine.com

PRINCESS MARGARET'S JEWELLERY TO BE AUCTIONED

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10 APRIL 2006

Jewellery belonging to one of the Royal Family's most glamorous personalities is to go under the hammer as Viscount Linley prepares to sell off items from the collection of his mother, the late Princess Margaret.

The Queen's lovely younger sister, who passed away in early 2002, led a dashing and high-profile life, and the pieces due to be auctioned at Christie's in the summer each have a story behind them. For example, she wore the Poltimore tiara, expected to fetch well over £250,000, for her wedding to Antony Armstrong-Jones.

Apparently the Viscount has had to take the difficult decision to dispose of the jewellery because of the heavy death duties on the Princess' multimillion-pound estate. It also appears to be part of a general financial shake-up for the successful furniture designer: he and his wife, Serena, have put their Chelsea flat, which they bought for just over £1 million, on the market with an asking price of £1.5 million.

The couple, who have two children – seven-year-old Charles and four-year-old Margarita – have a reputation for shrewd buying and selling of property. After Princess Margaret made over her beloved hideaway home on the island of Mustique to her son so as to avoid inheritance tax, he sold it off for an estimated £2.4 million.

The upcoming jewellery sale is expected to attract huge interest and up to £2 million in total.