Ten iconic dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales sold collectively for over £800,000 when they went under the hammer in London yesterday.
The prize lot was, predictably, the midnight-blue velvet Victor Edelstein gown that Diana wore to the 1985 State dinner at the White House, hosted by President Reagan, at which she memorably danced with John Travolta. It fetched £240,000 (including buyers premium).
According to auctioneer Kerry Taylor, the buyer was a British gentleman as a surprise to cheer up his wife. Lucky lady.
Other highlights included a black velvet Catherine Walker dress worn for the famous Vanity Fair photo shoot by Mario Testino at Kensington Palace in 1997 and another Walker number, worn for the premiere of Back To The Future in 1985, which sold for £108,000 each.
Says Taylor: we attracted bidders from across the world including Asia, America, Austria, Australia and of course, the UK, including three important museums, so we are hopeful that now people will actually get to see some of the dresses that belonged to the People's Princess.
...Which is, of course, the next best thing to having a rich (and generous) husband who buys one of them for you to actually wear.
