A designer leather handbag made especially for Princess Diana has sold for £8,600

A designer leather handbag made especially for Princess Diana has sold for £8,600, alongside one of her handwritten letters on Kensington Palace headed paper.

The iconic bag, made from crocodile skin, was designed by renowned fashion house Lana Marks for the late Princess of Wales in the 1990s and was such a favourite of the royal that she bought 15 of them. 

Understandably, the accessory went on to become known as the ‘Diana bag’. 

This particular bag was given by Diana as a gift to Chrisanthy Lemos, the wife of a Greek shipping magnate, after she admired it at a dinner party.

A designer leather handbag made especially for Princess Diana has sold for £8,600 alongside a handwritten letter from Diana on Kensington Palace writing paper

It was sold by the Lemos family at Reeman Dansie Auctioneers in Colchester, Essex, alongside a handwritten letter by Diana on Kensington Palace writing paper to Chrisanthy.

Diana’s note thanked her friend for helping her survive the media attention during her trip to Greece for the funeral of Giannis Kaliviotis, who she befriended during her time at Brompton Hospital.

She wrote: ‘This comes with my fondest love and very special thanks from Diana.’

A handwritten letter by Diana on Kensington Palace writing paper to Chrisanthy is also included in the lot

The bag was designed by renowned fashion house Lana Marks for the Princess of Wales in the 1990s

The chic black handbag, which is made from crocodile skin, measures 11ins by 7ins with a clasp to secure the opening

It was written in September 1996, a month after Diana finalised her divorce from then Prince Charles and a year before her death in a car crash in Paris.

The chic black handbag measures 11ins by 7ins with a clasp to secure the opening.

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Auctioneer James Grinter said: ‘This handbag was specifically made for her by Lana Marks and she liked it so much she bought 15 of them.

‘This design became so strongly associated with her that it became known as the ‘Diana bag’.

Diana picture looking typically elegant in a blue suit designed by fashion designer Chanel and carrying a handbag (not confirmed to be a Lana Marks one) in 1997

‘We thought that this sale would do well because of her enduring legacy across the globe.

‘The bag was in fantastic condition and the opportunity to own something that the princess had owned was irresistible for collectors.

‘There was worldwide interest in this sale, mainly from the UK, US and Australia.

‘It ended up being bought by an American private collector who is absolutely delighted to add it to their collection.’

Lana Marks was a personal friend of Diana and according to the designer, the two women had planned a four-day trip to Italy for the end of August 1997. 

Lana Marks, pictured with Princess Diana in 1997, said she still felt the pain of her friend’s passing, years after the horrific accident that shocked the world

However Miss Marks cancelled at the last minute when her father had a heart attack and Diana went to Paris with her partner Dodi Fayed instead – where they were killed in a car accident.  

Speaking to The Sun in 2017 she said: ‘It was a terrible time. I was supposed to be on vacation with Diana in Milan right then. 

‘We were going to go to Lake Como before flying back. I felt bad because she was at a loose end. I still feel the pain of it all.  

‘I constantly think, “What if she’d been with me?” All that might not have happened.’

Miss Marks said she still felt the pain of her friend’s passing, years after the horrific accident that shocked the world.