John Hoatson, who owns one of the largest private collections of Princess Diana memorabilia, at Althorp, the home of the Spencers, the late Princess Diana’s family

The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital will welcome John Hoatson, who owns one of the largest private collections of Princess Diana memorabilia, to the 41^st Annual Art & Antiques Show. The show is Dec. 1-3, at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, 1000 Water Street in Jacksonville.

“We are thrilled John is bringing a portion of his extensive collection of Princess Diana items to the Art & Antiques Show,” said Jan Kirby, who is chairing this year’s Art & Antiques Show with Frances Hutto and Kelley Kunz. “We have a wonderful lineup of engaging speakers and art and antiques dealers exhibiting at our spectacular show, which supports a cause that is vital to children in Northeast Florida.”

Hoatson, an alumni director for Keiser University, owns an extensive collection with more than 13,000 items related to Princess Diana and the royal family. The collection in his Fort Lauderdale home is one of the most extensive private collections of royal memorabilia in the world.

Hoatson’s fascination with Princess Diana began at age 8. Along with an estimated 750 million others around the world, he watched Lady Diana Spencer marry Prince Charles on television in 1981. Hoatson followed Princess Diana during her lifetime, but her tragic death in August 1997 set him on a new course to preserve her memory and honor her legacy.

After she died, Hoatson began contacting people who knew the princess with the hopes of collecting signatures and remembrances. He reached out to clothing designers, chauffeurs and friends of the royal family for his collection, which includes photographs, handwritten notes, commemorative china and other memorabilia. Along with the gifts he received, he has purchased items on eBay and at auction houses. Hoatson is bringing a portion of his Princess Diana memorabilia to exhibit at the Art & Antiques Show.

One of most notable items in Hoatson’s collection is a slice of royal wedding cake. Following royal tradition, the wedding cake is a fruitcake made of raisins, cherries and rum with marzipan icing. The cake is in a box signed by two of Diana’s bridesmaids, Clemmine Hambro, who at age 5 was her youngest bridesmaid, and India Hicks, who is a featured guest speaker at the Art & Antiques Show.

Other special guests attending the Art & Antiques show include designers Maria Crosby Pollard, Kathryn Ireland, Toma Clark Haines, Juli Catlin and William Nash IV. In addition to the celebrated lecturers and antiques dealers from around the country and Europe, the Art & Antiques show will feature a Booth Crawl with The Antiques Diva^®, the Royal Affair Gala with the RiverTown Band and the much loved Children’s Fashion Show featuring current and former Wolfson patients.

Show hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available online at www.artandantiquesshow.com, by phone at (904) 202-2886 or by email at [email protected].

Daily admission to the show is $15. Lecture tickets are $30. Tickets to the “Paddington at the Palace” Children’s Fashion Show are $10 for adults, $5 for children and free to children age 5 and under. Corporate sponsorships are available.

For more information and a complete show schedule, visit the Art & Antiques Show website at www.artandantiquesshow.com.