Princess Margaret's Antique Roadshow connection is official as two of her personal items appeared on the show. Although their owner was flabbergasted to learn the astronomical amount that they're worth, the items in question are just SO Princess Margaret so it's not that surprising to us. Considering the luxurious tastes she had, of course they're worth a pretty penny!
- Princess Margaret's personal items made a surprise appearance on the TV hit show Antiques Roadshow.
- The two items were a Cartier pill box and a larger box made from a rather unique material - that reflects Princess Margaret's lookalike granddaughter's style, which she says is inspired by her late grandma.
- In other royal news, Princess Mary of Denmark shows how to wear a gilet in style and we're obsessed with her off-duty look.
Tales of Princess Margaret’s extravagant lifestyle are far from new, so it's far from surprising that even her medicine was carried in luxurious cases. Or, so it appears from one of her personal items, which featured on the legendary show Antiques Roadshow.
The piece in question is a stunning gold egg-shaped Cartier pill box featured alongside a bigger box made from the volcanic material kimberlite - the rock that hosts diamonds.
Antiques expert John Benjamin took on the challenge of assessing how much the items are worth, as their owner and an audience of captivated fans looked on. On learning that the two boxes had been bought by the owner's grandmother at auction back in 2006, John was able to do a little digging.
The famous auction took part years after Princess Margaret's death in 2002, when her children made the difficult decision to auction some of her jewelry and homeware to help cover the taxes on her estate.
The auction, at the legendary Christie's, made a remarkable $11,718,431 (£9,598,160) and John discovered what they went for at the huge event.
"This little Cartier pill box or whatever you want to call it, sold at the auction for $5,200(£4,200)," he revealed, adding the kimberlite box went for $11,200(£9,000).
Of course, the question on everyone's lips - especially the woman who owns the pieces - is how much they're worth today.
"I’m going to give you a very broad estimate of value," said the expert, "I think that gold egg between $12,450(£10,000) and $24,900(£20,000) today."
Moving swiftly onto the next items he added, "I’m going to say between $24,900(£20,000) and $37,300(£30,000)."
These figures appeared to please the owner who responded, "heavens, wow."
Of the two items, John said, "I think these are absolutely fabulous," and we can't help but notice elements of Princess Margaret's granddaughter Lady Margarita in the unusual kimberlite box.
This very natural, earthy style is something that Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones has taken inspiration from, in her own career as a budding jewelry designer.
During a recent interview in Tatler, which was Princess Margaret's granddaughter's modeling debut, Lady Margarita described her late grandma as 'such an influence.'
Detailing one particularly sweet story behind a beautiful brooch, made by renowned jeweler Andrew Grima, that was based on a piece of lichen the Princess found on the grounds of Balmoral Castle. "That was an influence," she said, "because I love more natural pieces."
