Car that drove King Edward to announce his abdication in 1936 up for auction at Bonhams
Mon, Dec 03, 2007
AP (Associated Press)
>LONDON (AP) - The 1934 Buick that carried King Edward VIII to announce his abdication to Britain's prime minister, and the world's oldest surviving Rolls-Royce went under the hammer Monday at Bonhams auction house in London.
The king's custom-made Buick sold for more than 90,000 pounds (US$185,000; euro125,000), while the 1904 luxury Rolls went for more than 3.5 million pounds (US$7.2 million; euro4.9 million).
The Buick came with the original log book stating the first owner to be "H.M. The King," and a leather bound album showing a photos of the car before it was handed over to the king.
In the summer of 1935, the king, then the prince of Wales, ordered an American-built Buick. He ordered a range of luxury fittings, including two silver gilt cigarette boxes, a silver jewelry box, six silver top-decanters, and two posy holders, which remain in the car. It also has a blue light on the front, used to let police know the king was in the car.
By the time the car was delivered in February 1936, King George V had died and Edward had inherited the throne. Controversy over Edward's relationship with the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson grew as rumors spread that the king intended to marry her.
The king was driven to 10 Downing St. on Dec. 10, 1936, where he told then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that he planned to abdicate. The next day on British Broadcasting Corp. radio he told the nation: "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love."
After the speech, Edward headed to Portsmouth in the Buick. There, the car was loaded on a British battleship and taken to France, where Edward met Simpson. The two assumed the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and later married. They kept the car for three years.
The Rolls-Royce was first exhibited in Paris in 1904. The 10 horsepower, two-seater passed through several owners. Its sale broke the record for a car made before 1905, Bonhams said. A private British buyer bought the car and it will stay in the United Kingdom.
Also up for sale in Bonhams Annual Olympia Motoring Sale was a rare 1930 Bentley and a 1956 Bentley Continental once owned by Sir Elton John.
