As scathing criticism goes, few can match the inspired snobbery of the late Alan Clark’s diary remark that ‘the problem with Michael (Heseltine) is that he had to buy all his furniture’.
But has the line – which Clark attributed to fellow Tory minister Michael Jopling – lived on, but has now been royally rejected?
I ask this because none other than the Prince and Princess of Wales indulged in what might be described as avid window shopping last Friday when they made a discreet and entirely private evening visit to the salesrooms of auctioneer Dreweatts in Berkshire.
“They seemed very interested,” says one antiques enthusiast, adding that “everyone was tweeting to see them.” It was the beginning of the very big champagne reception that auctioneers always have before a serious auction.”
And few sales are as milestone moments as the ones attended by Prince William and Catherine.
The three-day auction of the extraordinary collection amassed by Robert Kime, who oversaw the redevelopment of first Highgrove and then Clarence House for King Charles, begins on Wednesday.
With almost 1,000 lots, ranging from Mughal carpets to Delft vases, it is expected to realize at least £1.5 million – a tribute to Kime’s inspired yet understated style, both as an interior designer, as he described himself, and as an antique dealer, whose genius earned him the adoration of clients such as Daphne Guinness, Lord and Lady Lloyd-Webber and Lord Puttnam.
Dreweatts and Kensington Palace would not comment on William and Kate’s visit. Others suspect a discreet telephone offer – or two – could be made on their behalf.
“Not so much to buy for themselves, but as a gift for Kate’s parents or brother or sister,” suggests another admirer of Kime, who died suddenly last year at the age of 76.
‘Maybe not the Ushak Medallion Tapestry for £50,000, or even George II’s grandfather clock for £4,000, but the fifteen Bronze Age axes for £2,000. What else would you give a mother-in-law?’
