King Edward VIII’s Rolls-Royce sells for £161,280

A Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost that was once used by Edward VIII to apparently sneak Wallis Simpson in and out of Balmoral Castle sold for £161,280 the weekend.

The car, which was bought by the royal in 1923, was fitted with black silk blinds to keep the love affair a secret. Edward VIII would eventually abdicate the throne in 1936 to be with the American divorcee.

Converted by Barker into a shooting brake with walnut-effect bodywork, the Rolls was the star of the H&H auction at Burghley House, Stamford, Lincs, on Saturday, 20 June.

The Silver Ghost was one of 22 Rolls-Royce cars on offer at the sale, perhaps the most desirable being a 1964 Silver Cloud 3 Flying Spur – one of only 52 HJ Mulliner-bodied four-door sports saloons produced.

Thought to be one of the most original, low mileage examples, the Silver Cloud had three previous owners and had clocked up just 37,000 miles over the past 51 years.

It eventually sold for just under £155,000 - exceeding its estimate by £16,000.

There were also 14 Bentleys at the Burghley House sale, including a striking T1 drophead coupe.

One of only 41 built, the 1969 soft-top was restored in 2012. It sold for £47,000.

Bargain of the day? That had to be the 1995 Aston Martin DB7 with full-service history and 76,000 miles. It sold for £14,000.

Even cheaper was a 1997 Mazda MX-6 – although it had a high mileage, it had one lady owner from new, full main dealer service history and a full MoT, and went for just £975.

For the full list of results visit Classic Car Price.