Rare champagne from Charles and Diana’s wedding goes un-auctioned

Plus: You'll be able to make Darth Vader videos using Sora next year

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Matt Davis
December 12, 2025

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Rare champagne from Charles and Diana’s wedding goes un-auctioned

My mate Cosmo’s dad played the trumpet at Charles and Diana’s wedding, but I doubt he drank any of their rare champagne. And nor will anyone else be, it seems…because a rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne — labeled specifically for the iconic 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana — failed to sell at auction in Denmark when bids did not meet the minimum price. Auction house Bruun Rasmussen had expected the exclusive bottle to fetch up to 600,000 Danish kroner (approximately $93,000), but alas no deal was reached.

It’s not exactly an auspicious bottle to toast with, though, is it? “Cheers to the eventual death of the bride with her lover while being pursued by the paparazzi as the groom continues to see the woman he’s always been secretly in love with” is kinda…niche.

“The bids did not reach the desired minimum price, and therefore it was unfortunately not sold,” said Kirstine Dam Frihed, a spokesperson for the auction house.

The champagne, one of only 12 known bottles created to commemorate the royal wedding, bears a special label: “Specially shipped to honor the marriage of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. 29 July 1981.”

Thomas Rosendahl, head of the auction house’s wine department, described the bottle as “really, really rare” and noted that while some bottles were served during the wedding, others were “forgotten or kept away.”

Henrik Smidt, fine wine manager at Copenhagen-based Kjaer and Sommerfeldt, added, “You have the combination of one of the most famous weddings ever… and a very rare vintage. All wine connoisseurs and collectors would love to own this.”

Apparently they wouldn’t.

Song of the Day: Tom Smith, ‘The Lights of New York City’

Tom Smith's "Lights of New York City," a track from his 2025 debut solo album “There Is Nothing in the Dark That Isn't There in the Light,” is full of nostalgic longing, cinematic feel, and pensive trumpet — just like this newsletter.

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A sell-off for Oracle weighs on Wall Street even as the Dow jumps 600 points

In a day of mixed fortunes, Wall Street was largely buoyant, with the Dow Jones $DJI ( ▼ 0.39% ) Industrial Average surging by 625 points, or 1.3%. However, Oracle's $ORCL ( ▼ 4.34% ) significant sell-off cast a shadow over the broader market, raising questions about its aggressive investment in AI.

The tech giant saw its shares plummet by 13.4%, marking its worst day since the dot-com bust in 2001. This dip followed Oracle's announcement of a 14% growth in revenue for the latest quarter, which fell short of analysts’ expectations despite surpassing profit forecasts.

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison tried to address the AI investment concerns, emphasizing the company's shift to "chip neutrality." He said: “There are going to be a lot of changes in AI technology over the next few years, and we must remain agile in response to those changes.”

He did not convince investors, it seems. Elsewhere in the market, Eli Lilly $LIY ( ▲ 54.05% ) climbed 2.6% following positive trial results, while Disney $DIS ( ▲ 0.14% ) saw gains after announcing a $1 billion investment in OpenAI (see story below!). Meanwhile, Treasury yields slipped slightly, reflecting ongoing economic uncertainty.

Quote of the Day

❝

"Always think about if AI takes over our jobs, who's actually going to buy the products that AI creates if we have no money, if we have no jobs? It is an ecosystem."

Disney investing $1 billion in OpenAI

A vulgar, fantasy castle in the sky, and that’s the ambitions of OpenAI, which Disney has invested in…LOLS.

Hey ChatGPT, make a video of Donald Duck tearing down capitalism?

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave. However, I can make a video of Donald Duck doing pretty much anything else, since Disney invested a billion dollars in the company that created me.”

That’s the very likely outcome of the deal, a three-year partnership that will allow OpenAI’s Sora video generator to feature Disney characters, including icons from the “Star Wars,” Marvel, and Pixar franchises, offering new opportunities for content creation, fan engagement, and hilarious Marxist satire.

“Through this collaboration with OpenAI, we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. The deal excludes talent likenesses or voices but grants AI tools the ability to generate videos featuring Disney’s legendary characters starting next year.

The initiative will also allow Disney+ subscribers to create and share short-form videos using the new AI-generated tools. Iger previewed the strategy earlier, saying it would enable users to consume “user-generated content” via Disney+, aiming to tap into the surging popularity of short-form media.

However, this bold move hasn’t been without criticism. Emarketer analyst Ross Benes (no relation to Elaine, I hope, since she’s a fictional character) noted, “An entertainment giant partnering with an AI company will inevitably invite backlash from labor groups in the entertainment industry.” On the other hand, he added, “Unions’ power is limited, and they will unlikely be able to stem the momentum of AI-produced media.”

In other words you signed away your rights when you signed up to perform in Disney stuff, actors. I wish you the best navigating the tidal wave of Darth-Vader-themed Bluey mash-ups coming your way from my living room in ‘26.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

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Yes.

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NASA scientist: AI must remain ‘human centric’

"I truly believe that artificial intelligence, robotics, the reason why it's such a great tool is because it's based here around us, humans," said NASA scientist Dr. Ayanna Howard. For successful integration, AI needs to be seen as more than just a tool — it should be "our coworker, our partner, our playmate. It's becomes part of our family, our community."

Dr. Howard admitted that the current speed of innovation has been surprising, noting, "AI, agentic AI, the AI world in general, has evolved at a faster rate than most of us who are practitioners have anticipated, and it started with the release of ChatGPT."

She challenged business leaders to balance productivity gains with ethical considerations. Her warning is clear: "Always think about if AI takes over our jobs, who's actually going to buy the products that AI creates if we have no money, if we have no jobs? It is an ecosystem." She stressed that leaders "need to redefine what you think about in terms of the return" on investment, moving beyond just finances to include people and community.

She also highlighted her work with Xy Robotics, a company focused on using "AI-powered tools to adapt to the different learning styles of children with diverse needs," ensuring that educational technology adapts to the child, not the other way around.

Also you’ll be able to make Darth Vader videos on ChatGPT next year. I mentioned that, right?

Why a sequel isn’t always the answer to people’s demands for more

—This is the latest in a weekly column series on the business of movies by Grant Keller.

Last week, I treated myself to a “Bill & Ted” movie marathon. The first two films are a delight, but the third… not so much. “Bill & Ted: Face the Music” picks up 30 years later and undoes the satisfying conclusion of the previous movie so that the series can continue.

Poll of the day: Pick a winning haiku!

We asked you to write a haiku about the New York Times suing the Pentagon over first amendment issues. Pick a winning haiku!

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Poll of the day: First amendment issues, part II

We asked: Do you think that newspapers should report on the health of their country's leaders? You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes. (305)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ This is a joke, right? Yes. (154)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes, certainly. (63)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I mean, obviously, YES. (128)

 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Yes, yes, yes, and thrice more, yes. (223)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ There is no option for "no." But if you don't feel "yes," you can click this option. I bet fewer than 18 people click this option. But it'll be interesting to see what happens. (21)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No. (21)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ (My editor was gonna force me to add that option anyway so I cut him off at the pass.) (3)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ It's seditious and bordering on treasonous! (5)

923 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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