Chairs that were used at King Charles’ coronation have been put up for auction by Christie’s.
In a bid to raise funds for Emmaus UK, Safelives, The Prince’s Trust, and The Prince’s Foundation, the famous auction house is selling off six Coronation chairs across London, Paris, and New York.
The deep royal seats with velvet features are expected to fetch between £2,000 to £4,000 per pair.
Specially commissioned by King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 76, the Coronation Chairs seated members of the royal family and dignitaries during the special occasion.
However, bidders are totally unaware of who the chair belonged to on the day.
The upcoming auction will take place for a global audience through The Collector from October 13 to November 3.
Designed and created by the Rugby-based cabinetmaker N.E.J Stevenson in collaboration with The Snowdon School of Furniture, one hundred luxury chairs were made for the coronation.
The chairs boast plush blue velvet cushioning and sustainably sourced British oak, while the upholstery of the chairs has been completed by the Royal Household Upholstery team in Frogmore.
The team strived to follow the long-held tradition of seats designed for each ceremony throughout the 20th century and, like Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation chairs they feature a Royal Cypher set against royal blue velvet.
Proceeds from the chairs will be split equally between the four charities: Emmaus UK, Safelives, The Prince’s Trust, and The Prince’s Foundation.
It comes shortly after three of Princess Diana’s gowns sold at auction for £1.3 million – shattering their expected sale prices.
A red Bruce Oldfield silk gown which was worn by the Princess to the Hot Shots film premiere in 1991 had a minimum estimated sale price of $200,000 (£160,450) but was earlier this month for $571,500 (£458,480).
A custom-made black velvet and ivory Catherine Walker dress she wore to a private event sold for $508,000 (£407,540) – more than eight times its lower estimate of $60,000 (£48,130).
The same designer’s black and jade gown, which Diana wore to a gala in Canada in 1991, had a minimum estimate of $100,000 (£80,220) but also went for $571,500.
Julien’s Auctions, in Beverly Hills, California, sold the gowns as part of its Legends: Hollywood & Royalty auction.
Martin Nolan, the auction house’s executive director, said: ‘Our record-breaking sale of these gowns exceeded all expectations.’
The dresses were originally bought by Ellen Petho, an American businesswoman who paid $150,000 for five of Princess Diana’s dresses at a Christie’s auction in New York in June 1997, using money she had saved to buy a house.
The gowns had been donated by Princess Diana to raise money for charity, two months before her death.
Mrs Petho, who died in January aged 82, also raised more than £1 million for charity by putting the dresses on display in the US.
Her daughter, Karrie, 60, told the Mail: ‘Our mother read the inscription inside [the auction catalogue] about Prince William telling his mother that the dresses shouldn’t sit in her closet; that they should be out in the world and doing good.
‘I think that’s what inspired her.’
Mrs Petho’s widower, Louis, 83, sold the gowns on Friday to help raise money for a scholarship fund for mature art and design students.
