Princess Diana’s First Job Contract, with an Age Fib, Sells for $10,000

Even Princess Diana stretched the truth on her first job application.

The initial work contract of the late royal was sold at an auction for a whopping $10,500. Lady Diana Spencer filled out this form for a nanny agency called Solve Your Problem Ltd. in May 1979 by hand, and it included a little white lie about her age.

When Diana was just 17, she wrote her birthdate as “July 1st, 1960,” a year ahead of her actual birth year in 1961, to make herself seem older than she was. The folks at Auctioneum Ltd. in Bristol believe this was intentional, maybe to snag a job faster or earn more money.

Someone noticed the fib though, and they wrote “nearly 18” in blue ink next to her birthdate.

Princess Diana’s First Job Contract Photo

The form also had Diana’s address in London, her phone number, religion, and when she could start working, to which she replied, “As soon as possible.” She also listed her skills as “cook – basic,” “housework,” “animals,” and “ballet dancer.”

At the bottom of the form, there’s a note that seems to be from the person reviewing it: “Lovely girl — send anywhere.”

Andrew Stowe, the auctioneer, said people from all over the world were interested in the contract, with bids coming in from America, Hong Kong, Canada, and Australia.

“Princess Diana, her life and her story hold a very special place in so many people’s hearts, and the result of this auction shows that she is still well remembered all around the world,” he said.

“At face value, this is just an everyday work contract; a piece of office stationery that lived in a filing cabinet alongside hundreds of others. Yet just over two years later, Diana Spencer would become Princess Of Wales, and her life, and the whole of our history, would never be the same.”

Stowe also said that this contract was “one of the last remaining snapshots of Diana’s ‘normal’ life.”

Before marrying Prince Charles in July 1981 and joining the royal family full-time, Diana worked as a nanny, a helper for mothers, and an assistant teacher in a nursery.