|
 Hoatson's passion for all things Diana began when he was 8 and
shows no signs of fading at the age of 45, with Diana's son
Prince Harry scheduled to wed retired American actress Meghan
Markle on May 18 at Windsor Castle.
The wedding will give Hoatson the opportunity to add to a
collection that numbers 13,000 items. A museum valued it at
about $500,000 in 2011, he said.
As a child, Hoatson was an American history buff, collecting
antiques related to the first U.S. president, George Washington.
He became hooked on the royal family and Diana after seeing her
wedding to heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles on July 29, 1981.
"My mother woke me up the morning of the royal wedding of
Charles and Diana and told me I needed to watch it for
historical reasons," he told Reuters during an interview in his
home surrounded by objects from his collection.
"I was fascinated how they still used all the carriages and
still had all that pomp and pageantry even after so many
centuries," said Hoatson, who is single.
One wall in his small Pompano Beach, Florida, home is covered by
a black-and-white photo of Diana gazing into the camera. A
wall-covering portrait of Diana and Charles from the wedding day
hangs nearby and a National Geographic documentary about her
life plays on a loop on his television.
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Other items include signed cards, handwritten notes to her staff,
porcelain trinkets bearing the Windsor family crest, the tiny
replica shoes, the plush doll in a powder blue satin dress and
sparkling tiara, and coffee mugs, plates, and bowls bearing Diana's
image. He even has a bar of soap Diana used on a Caribbean vacation.
Hoatson considers his prized possession a sliver of fruitcake in its
original box from the wedding day, which he acquired in 2004 from an
auction house for $300. "That was when Diana became a member of the
royal family," he said.
Now, Hoatson is organizing an office watch party for Prince Harry's
nuptials and plans to begin adding mementos from the day as soon as
they become available.
(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson; Editing by Ben Klayman)
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