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You, too, can wear a crown fit for a queen's kid sister, if you have about $370,000 to spare. The tiara worn by Britain's Princess Margaret at her 1960 wedding to Anthony Armstrong-Jones is one of 90 items in a lavish selection of the late princess' jewelry, antiques and miscellaneous baubles set for a two-day auction June 13 and 14 at Christie's in London.
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The auction is a prosaic ending to a fairy tale that went wrong a long time ago. Princess Margaret, younger sister of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and Anthony Armstrong-Jones waved to crowds from a balcony of Buckingham Palace on their wedding day, May 6, 1960. They split after 18 years of marriage and two children. It was the first British royal divorce since King Henry VIII's.
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The hard-partying princess died in 2002 at age 71. Her husband, dubbed the Earl of Snowden, is now 78 and reportedly ailing. London is buzzing about the auction of royal goods by their children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto. The proceeds reportedly will be used to offset steep death taxes on her estate, worth an estimated $14 million. On Oct. 16, 1963, the couple danced at a charity ball in London.
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The extraordinary collection of royal baubles was trotted out at showings in several world capitals before the auction. Here, Helen Molesworth of Christie's holds Princess Margaret's tiara during an open house in New York on June 5, 2006. The tiara alone is conservatively estimated at $280,000 to $370,000.
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Helen Molesworth of Christie's holds a five-row Art Deco pearl and diamond necklace owned by Princess Margaret at aa showing in Hong Kong on May 26, 2006. The princess wore the pearls for her 19th- and 21st-birthday portraits. They are expected to bring $28,000 to $37,000 at auction.
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A diamond monogram brooch given to Princess Margaret on her 21st birthday is shown by Helen Molesworth of Christie's at a press preview on May 13, 2006, in Geneva, Switzerland. The brooch is expected to fetch $5,200 to $8,600. There are some lower-priced items in the sale. Christie's promises "a selection of domestic and personal items such as muffin dishes, photograph frames, inkstands and other useful objects."
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Browsers examine the treasures of the late Princess Margaret at Christie's in New York on June 5, 2006. The sale includes a gold Cartier cigarette case given to her by King George VI, and inscribed "To Margaret from her very devoted Papa GR Christmas 1949." There's also a Victorian vanity case filled with little gilt bottles and gadgets, a gift from her grandmother, Queen Mary.
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Helen Molesworth of Christie's shows a ring with three oval rubies between baguette-cut diamonds from Princess Margaret's collection at a press preview in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 13, 2006. The ring is estimated at $26,000 to $35,000.
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Princess Margaret and her husband, photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones, arrive at London's Opera House in 1960. Armstrong-Jones was later named Earl of Snowdon. In her day, Princess Margaret topped "best dressed" lists and epitomized glamour.
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Princess Margaret is shown on March 14, 1967, with her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, on a pontoon in Nassau, Bahamas. After the collapse of their marriage, the princess became a staple of the international jet set and had a notorious relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, 18 years her junior.
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Princess Margaret's pearls and a photo of her wearing them are displayed at an open house in New York on June 5, 2006.