Diana's first work contract sells for over £8,000

Lady Diana Spencer's first job was working for an elite nanny agency

What is believed to be Diana, Princess of Wales' first work contract, in which she might have lied about her age, has sold for £8,470 at auction.

Lady Diana Spencer completed the application form for elite nanny agency Solve Your Problem Ltd in May 1979.

Largely filled out by the 17-year-old, it is thought she listed her date of birth as 1960 instead of 1961 to "get a job quicker, or receive more pay".

The document has gone to an anonymous collector in the US.

Auctioneer Andrew Stowe, from Auctioneum Ltd in Bristol said: "This is an incredible result.

"There was interest from all around the world, with bidders from America, Hong Kong, Canada and Australia all trying to get their hands on Diana’s first work contract.

"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.

"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.

"This contract represents one of the last remaining snapshots of Diana’s ‘normal’ life," he added.

Her skills are listed as "cook - basic", "housework", "animals" and "ballet dancer" along with comments saying she was a "lovely girl - send anywhere"

Princess Diana was considered to be one of the most famous women in the world - with both her charity work and private life making headlines.

She was killed in a car crash in August 1997, when her sons Prince William and Prince Harry were aged just 15 and 12.

At the time of her death, 36-year-old Princess Diana had been divorced from Prince Charles for a year following four years of separation.

The contract bears her signature in black pen

The document was completed by a teenage Lady Diana Spencer, just a few weeks after moving to London.

On the application her skills are listed as "cook - basic", "housework", "animals" and "ballet dancer".

And on the lower part of the form is written "lovely girl - send anywhere".

But most surprisingly, she has incorrectly listed her date of birth as "July 1st 1960" when she was born on 1 July 1961.

Mr Stowe said his client had "always been told" it was deliberate to make her appear over 18 years old.

"[It was] in order that Diana would appear older and therefore more likely to secure a job with the agency, or at least a higher rate of pay," he said.

"It could, of course, just be a simple oversight."

As Princess Diana, she became one of the most famous figures of the 20th Century and was especially well known for her humanitarian work

The document is thought to be Princess Diana's first official work contract to undertake various short-term jobs as a nanny, mother's help and child carer.

Prior to this, in 1978 Lady Diana Spencer had worked for friends and family, in an unofficial capacity, and some of them are noted as referees on the contract.