Althorp Estate Auction

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/15/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Earl Spencer, brother of the late Princess Diana, on June 19 will auction off items that have been resting in the attics of his family's Althorp estate for the better part of 500 years, Sotheby's London, which is handling the sale, has announced. The auction will take place at the estate itself and is expected to fetch $3.5 million. No personal items that belonged to Diana are said to be included in the sale, which will feature paintings, books and art objects owned by her family. Some of the items are due to go on display at Sotheby's in Manhattan by April. "I think we'll get one of the carriages," Sotheby's spokesman Matthew Weigman told the New York Post. He added that the display pieces "may be furniture or paintings, (but) a good cross-section."