Princess Diana's engagement gift from Prince Charles sold at auction.

Two months before his July 1981 wedding, Prince Charles presented the then Princess of Wales with an engagement gift; 30 years later, the car sparked an international bidding war and sold at auction for 52,640 pounds (about $73,000).

As ITV News (opens in new tab) reports, a Chilean museum eventually secured the car. Luis Lovett of Lehman Dungey Auctioneers in Colchester, England, told the press It was in a lot of newspapers and on a lot of websites, so it was really a worldwide interest. After a bit of a phone battle, people from South America bought it."

Diana frequently drove it to watch Prince Charles play polo, but sold it shortly after she gave birth to Prince William in 1982. An antiques dealer bought it for 6,000 pounds (about $8,200), and then a royal fan acquired it in 2000. A royal fan then acquired it in 2000. The car disappeared from the public eye for more than 20 years, and its owner remained tight-lipped about its bizarre history.

When Princess Diana sold the car, she left behind one of its most notable features: a silver frog mascot on the hood (the car now has an exact replica), but the car retains its original license plates and interior. tab), the frog was a gift from Princess Diana's sister, Lady Sarah Spencer. The mascot was intended to remind Diana of the fairy tale "The Frog Prince,"

in which a kiss from the beautiful princess transforms a frog into a prince.