Baltimore lawyer buys Princess Diana's bicycle to 'warn' people of royals' racist system

A United States-based lawyer has purchased an old bicycle that was used by the late Princess Diana, and wants to display it in a museum as a "symbol of racism" by royalty.

Barry Glazer, a lawyer from Baltimore, paid £57,200 for Princess Diana's bright blue 1970s Ladies Raleigh Traveller which went up for auction in the UK last month. The Princess of Wales used to ride the bike around London while she was working as a teacher's assistant. She had to sell it upon her engagement to Prince Charles as it was reportedly considered "unsuitable" for a future queen of England. The bike was later dubbed as the "Shame Bike," and sold off to one Gerald Stonehill who kept it in his garage for 27 years.

The bike, which features 26-inch wheels and three Sturmey Archer gears, fetched almost four times the amount that was estimated when it went up for sale.

Glazer, who describes himself as a "legal advocate for the injured, disabled and medically abused," plans to display the bicycle in a Baltimore building that was used by activists to help house escaped slaves in the 19th century. Glazer told The Sunday Times that he believes the bike is a symbol of "white supremacy and the racist system that royalty is based on." He also said he finds America's weakness for Anglophilia "incomprehensible."

However, not many agree with Glazer's decision to dub Diana's bike the "symbol of racism." Some have accused him of buying it purely for publicity. Meanwhile, some activists argue that he could have better used the money he spent on the bike by donating it to more important causes.

Amanda Foreman, a British historian based in New York, said: "Rather than showboating for clickbait, I would urge anyone truly interested in creating a more equitable society to volunteer their time and money to on-the-ground organisations."

Glazer is known in Baltimore for his gaudy television commercials, one of which features him speeding around in a convertible Maserati and then bragging: "I've made a fortune off of cases that other lawyers wouldn't take." Also, the tagline of his law firm is: "Don't urinate on my leg and tell me it's raining."