Princess Diana Loses Mercedes to Recession

LONDON — The economic recession dogging Britain has reached the highest levels of the Royal Family, forcing Princess Diana to give up her beloved Mercedes-Benz.

“Everybody is affected by the recession,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said Monday. “The Prince and Princess of Wales do not have a bottomless pit from which to draw money, and she is tightening her belt like anybody else.”

The glamorous princess, wife of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and daughter-in-law of Queen Elizabeth, who is one of the world’s richest people, decided not to renew the lease on her Mercedes 500 SL convertible “runabout.”

When the princess leased the car, she was criticized by lawmakers, trade unions and industrialists for not backing British industry.

The metallic red two-seater represented a break with a 50-year tradition that senior members of the Royal Family do not drive foreign cars.

She will now use whatever is available from the royal pool of cars, which are all made in Britain, royal sources said.