Prince's Diamonds and Pearls guitar to be sold

Prince used the Fender Gemini II acoustic on his 1991 album, Diamonds and Pearls

A guitar used by Prince on a triple platinum album is to be sold at auction with an upper guide price of £80,000.

Two brothers plan to sell the Fender Gemini II acoustic that he used on his Diamonds and Pearls album which reached number two in the UK charts.

The "devoted fans" of the late star said they were selling it because their plan to share ownership of the instrument was no longer feasible.

An expert said the way Prince chose the guitar was a "music industry legend".

The brothers, who wished to remain anonymous, bought the instrument from American music producer Sylvia Massy, who worked as an engineer on the 1991 album.

She had bought a selection of expensive guitars for Prince's use but he selected her personal guitar, which would have cost about £150 new.

It was used on a selection of tracks, most notably Walk Don't Walk.

Auctioneer Luke Hobbs said the brothers bought the guitar from producer Sylvia Massy in 2020

The younger brother said: "In the six months since we bought the guitar, it's been displayed in my brother's living room - in what we call his 'Prince corner'.

"Lots of our friends have seen it but we've not let anyone play it. But now I've moved to Spain, it's not practical for us to share the guitar so we've decided to put it up for sale."

The pair, originally from Frome in Somerset, said they were hit hard by Prince's death in 2016.

The younger brother said: "It was like losing a member of our family. My brother still struggles to listen to Purple Rain.

"So when we got the guitar it was amazing. We owned something that Prince had played and touched.

"You could even see strumming marks made by his plectrum on the black pick guard."

The guitar is due to be sold by specialist auctioneers Gardiner Houlgate in Corsham, Wiltshire on 10 March.

Auctioneer Luke Hobbs said: "The story of how Prince selected Sylvia Massy's old guitar is the stuff of music industry legend.

"What no-one knew was that the guitar has been sitting in a living room in Frome since last year. You couldn't make it up."