Elizabeth Hurley and star guests find homes for London's most famous elephants
Yjeu have been patrolling the streets of London for the past few weeks — but now the beasts of the Elephant Parade are finding their new homes at last.
At an auction at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, 31 of the pachyderms, adorned by artists, designers and celebrities, were sold, raising more than £1 million to help save their real-life counterparts in Asia.
The top price paid was £155,000 for Jack Vettriano's The Singing Butler Rides Again, featuring the bowler-hatted character from his famous painting riding on the elephant's back.
Among those at last night's event were Elizabeth Hurley, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Goldie Hawn, Lakshmi Mittal, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, and designers Terence Conran, Alice Temperley and Nicky Haslam.
The herd of 259 baby elephants has proved a huge hit with the public since it sprang up on the capital's streets two months ago. The remaining 228 are being auctioned online. All proceeds go to The Elephant Family, the charity founded by Mark Shand, brother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Mr Shand said he was getting 800 letters a day from people begging him to return the animals to the streets: "Unfortunately they had to go. But this was an incredible night. We've raised more than £1 million so far, which is just amazing.
Every penny is vital to protect the habitat for this critically endangered species."
Vettriano said he was "dumbstruck" by the price of his work but joked: "I'm worth every penny. I was absolutely delighted to be asked to take part because it's such a wonderful cause."
The second biggest sale on the night was £140,000 for A Penny For Your Thoughts, by Jane Morgan.
Marc Quinn's all-white Untitled went for £65,000. Tory MP Nicholas Soames bought Matthew Williamson's Ziggy for £22,000, and singer Andrea Corr paid £26,000 for Lover by Jeff Rowland.
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She said: "I'm so thrilled to own it. I completely fell in love with it the first time I saw it and I just had to put in a bid." Also present at the sale were Richard Caring, singer Coco Sumner and Peter and Tamara Beckwith.
More than 165,000 people have been to see the Elephant Parade display since it moved to the Royal Hospital grounds last week — more than the number that attended the Chelsea Flower Show.
Princess Eugenie said: "It's such a great idea. I'm in love with all the elephants. It's been really good fun."
The remaining animals in the herd are available for purchase until 10pm on July 4 at www.givinglots.co.uk/ElephantParadeLondon
