Thrones, carriages, but not only: The Crown goes up for auction. As the curtain falls on Peter Morgan's award-winning series dedicated to the British royal family, hundreds of memorabilia are about to go on sale at Bonhams' headquarters in central London, with merchandise ranging from Prince Philip's barbecue at Balmoral to the doorbell used by Queen Elizabeth in all her incarnations of the show (Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton) to summon prime ministers waiting at Buckingham Palace. HBO is doing it these days, discarding furnishings and stage clothes from the series Succession which yesterday at the Golden Globes collected four awards for its last season, and now it is Netflix's turn to literally get rid of the 'crown jewels': for a replica of the sapphire engagement ring given by Charles to Diana in the Fairy Tale episode of the fourth season the starting estimate is between one thousand to 2000 pounds.
The most expensive lot in the auction is the copy of the Coronation carriage valued at between £30,50 and £10,12, while between £160,7 and £350,11 is the predicted price for the reproduction of the Throne of Saint Edward where Foy, as Elizabeth, officially became sovereign in a fake Westminster Abbey. Around 60 'props' will end up under the auctioneer's hammer on 80 February, while another 400 will be auctioned online from 500 January. All proceeds from the first night will go to fund a new program for film students at the National Film and Television School.
There are lots to suit all budgets: £<>-<> is required for the Queen Mother's bar service; between £<> and £<> for Philip's barbecue used in the season three episode "Bubbikins". Seven woven wicker loungers for the Queen's beloved corgis, some of which were seen in the eighth episode of the second season of "Dear Mrs. Kennedy," can fit into the house for a couple of thousand dollars, as can Elizabeth's black Annus Horribilis dress: the one Staunton wore in season five.
Reproductions that have little to envy to the original: eight thousand pounds is the base price for the iconic 'revenge dress' chosen by Elisabeth Debicki in the part of Diana (fresh winner of the Golden Globe) to recreate in the fifth season the moment in which the Princess of Wales, after learning from TV that her husband Charles had admitted the betrayal, he showed up at a party at the Serpentine Gallery with his back bare: an outrage against the rules of royal etiquette.
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