Kelly Clarkson banned from taking $244k ring out of U.K.

By Tribute News on October 20, 2012 | 12 Comments

Kelly Clarkson has been banned from taking a $244,000 ring out of Britain. The singer successfully bid for the ring - which was once owned by revered romantic novelist Jane Austen - at a U.K. auction, but she is not allowed to take the ring back to the States when her British tour comes to an end this weekend because it has been declared a national treasure. Kelly - who also won a first edition of the writer's 1816 novel Persuasion - said: "I got up at 4 a.m. to start bidding on the auction. We put in an export request but I can't take it out of the U.K. as they've named it a national treasure." The 30-year-old singer is a self-confessed "history nerd" and during her latest U.K. tour she swapped her tour bus for a personal driver in order to see a number of historical sites around the country, including the place where the 2005 big screen adaptation of Austen's Pride & Prejudice novel was shot. She added to the Daily Star newspaper: "I had my sister with me and we went to Derbyshire to see where the version of Pride & Prejudice featuring Keira Knightley was filmed. Y'all live in such a beautiful place. When I'm here there's so much to see as I'm a really big history nerd. All I've done for the past decade is see the tour bus so we thought we'd do something different."

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1. Tiffany • October 20, 2012 @ 5:06 PM

   I find that completely stupid. How can they declare something that belongs to Kelly Clarkson to be a national treasure when it doesn’t belong to the nation? What the hell? If I were her, I’d take it anyways. It’s not like the border officials will recognize it…

2. Tatiana • October 20, 2012 @ 6:38 PM

   I just find it odd that a national treasure was up for sale. Was it declared a national treasure before or after the auction? I wonder what the legalities of this auction for this ring would be now.

3. Richard • October 20, 2012 @ 8:04 PM

   Unlike the U.S., Canada and the UK have nothing in their constitutions that allows for the right to private property. They can expropriate anything they want. The organization that handles this in the UK is the National Trust and they are very powerful politically.

4. me • October 21, 2012 @ 12:12 PM

   If its declared a national treasure, then it should never have been put up for auction for an individual to (attempt to) purchase. So they can take her money but she cant take her purchase?

5. anonymous2 • October 21, 2012 @ 2:20 PM

   If she can’t take it out of the U.K. then they should give her back the money she paid for it.

6. Snepts • October 22, 2012 @ 4:44 AM

   LOL! She’s wearing a Styx shirt!

7. C-Dub • October 22, 2012 @ 4:12 PM

   If she is a history buff and interested in Jane Austin things, I think she would take care of it. Or if she cannot get her $ back from the auction place, then the Gov should pay her for it. Hint: re-sell it for a million if it’s so important to them.

8. Theresa M • October 27, 2012 @ 11:29 AM

   Why in the world would a national treasure be on the auction block, and without a “must not leave the UK” caveat clearly noted? did they think the buyer would just turn around and donate it to a museum or something?

9. Edwina Humphrey • October 27, 2012 @ 12:01 PM

   You need to check other countries laws before you buy anything,I always do when I leave the USA may countries are like that!!Even in out coutry we can,t bring things into other states,so why get so upset.Get educated people.People learn to educate youself! Know what the laws and rules are!!

10. Sharon • October 27, 2012 @ 12:08 PM

    I agree that it should not leave the country. It should be in a museum. I am a huge Jane Austen fan and would love to have something like this, but it would be better off in its land of origin.

11. Susan • October 27, 2012 @ 4:38 PM

    If the ring is so relevant why on earth would anybody put it up for sale by an auction house in the first place?Did the auctioneers make it plain that non-UKers were not allowed to remove the ring from the country?This seems very duplicitous to me; to collect such a sum of money for an item that should not have been sold in the first place. Give her the money back or let her take the ring to her own country.

12. Silke • October 28, 2012 @ 3:09 AM

    These are the rules of UK. She should have asked before. If you make holidays in Turkey you are not allowed even to bring historic things (antiques, old stones etc.) back home. A student was arrested in prison for month taking an old stone with him. The authorities thought it was ancient. There are rules all over the world. In the States as well. I am not allowed to bring sweets with me and a lot of things more. So Kelly Clarkson should rent a box in a bank but the ring inside it and always wear it when she comes back to UK

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