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| Princess Diana's dress snapped up by anonymous bidder as surprise for wife | Princess Diana's dress snapped up by anonymous bidder as surprise for wife |
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| A dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, when she danced with John Travolta at a White House state dinner was sold at auction for £240,000 on Tuesday to an anonymous bidder who said he wanted to surprise his wife. | A dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, when she danced with John Travolta at a White House state dinner was sold at auction for £240,000 on Tuesday to an anonymous bidder who said he wanted to surprise his wife. |
| The off-the-shoulder, midnight blue velvet gown, designed by Victor Edelstein, captivated the public when the late princess was pictured wearing it as she was twirled around the dancefloor by the Hollywood star during a visit to the US in 1985. | The off-the-shoulder, midnight blue velvet gown, designed by Victor Edelstein, captivated the public when the late princess was pictured wearing it as she was twirled around the dancefloor by the Hollywood star during a visit to the US in 1985. |
| It was the star lot in a sale of 10 of Diana's dresses at vintage fashion auctioneers Kerry Taylor Auctions in London. Auctioneer Kerry Taylor said: "It was bought by a British gentleman who said he wanted to buy it as a surprise to cheer up his wife. I hope that the sale has really made someone's day." She added that the new owner of the gown, which reached the top price of the sale, was a "lucky woman". | It was the star lot in a sale of 10 of Diana's dresses at vintage fashion auctioneers Kerry Taylor Auctions in London. Auctioneer Kerry Taylor said: "It was bought by a British gentleman who said he wanted to buy it as a surprise to cheer up his wife. I hope that the sale has really made someone's day." She added that the new owner of the gown, which reached the top price of the sale, was a "lucky woman". |
| The dresses were originally sold, along with a number of others, by Diana after her divorce from the Prince of Wales to raise money for charity, at the suggestion of Prince William. American Maureen Rorech Dunkel, from the US, initially bought the dresses as a long-term investment, but after Diana's death in 1997 she decided to exhibit them to raise money for good causes. | The dresses were originally sold, along with a number of others, by Diana after her divorce from the Prince of Wales to raise money for charity, at the suggestion of Prince William. American Maureen Rorech Dunkel, from the US, initially bought the dresses as a long-term investment, but after Diana's death in 1997 she decided to exhibit them to raise money for good causes. |
| The collection, Fit For a Princess, raised £862,800. Taylor described the dresses as "a little history of Diana's life through her clothes". | The collection, Fit For a Princess, raised £862,800. Taylor described the dresses as "a little history of Diana's life through her clothes". |
| Bidders came from as far afield as Australia and the US, but there were British buyers for several of the dresses, including an "important" museum which bought two gowns, something Taylor said she was particularly pleased about. | Bidders came from as far afield as Australia and the US, but there were British buyers for several of the dresses, including an "important" museum which bought two gowns, something Taylor said she was particularly pleased about. |
| "It's important for the generations to come," she said. "Diana was the people's princess, so the people should be able to see these dresses. This is our heritage, our history." | "It's important for the generations to come," she said. "Diana was the people's princess, so the people should be able to see these dresses. This is our heritage, our history." |
| The second-highest prices were achieved by two gowns by Catherine Walker, one of Diana's favourite designers. | The second-highest prices were achieved by two gowns by Catherine Walker, one of Diana's favourite designers. |
| A black velvet and beaded evening gown, which the princess was photographed in by Mario Testino for a Vanity Fair photoshoot at Kensington Palace a few months before her death, sold for £108,000. It is the only one of the 10 dresses to have been worn after her divorce. | A black velvet and beaded evening gown, which the princess was photographed in by Mario Testino for a Vanity Fair photoshoot at Kensington Palace a few months before her death, sold for £108,000. It is the only one of the 10 dresses to have been worn after her divorce. |
| Another Catherine Walker dress, a burgundy crushed velvet evening gown worn for a state visit to Australia in 1985 and also to the premiere of Back to the Future the same year, also sold for £108,000. Despite bidding from Australians on the auction house floor, it was bought by an American museum. | Another Catherine Walker dress, a burgundy crushed velvet evening gown worn for a state visit to Australia in 1985 and also to the premiere of Back to the Future the same year, also sold for £108,000. Despite bidding from Australians on the auction house floor, it was bought by an American museum. |
| A Catherine Walker Mughal-inspired embroidered pink silk evening gown and bolero which was made for Diana's a state visit to India in 1992 was sold for £66,000. It was on this trip that the famous photograph of the princess sitting alone outside the Taj Mahal was taken. | A Catherine Walker Mughal-inspired embroidered pink silk evening gown and bolero which was made for Diana's a state visit to India in 1992 was sold for £66,000. It was on this trip that the famous photograph of the princess sitting alone outside the Taj Mahal was taken. |
| Another dress by the French-born designer, a burgundy velvet gown with embroidered tailcoat, worn during a state visit to Korea in 1992 and to the premiere of Steel Magnolias two years earlier, sold for £50,400. | Another dress by the French-born designer, a burgundy velvet gown with embroidered tailcoat, worn during a state visit to Korea in 1992 and to the premiere of Steel Magnolias two years earlier, sold for £50,400. |
| A Bruce Oldfield black velvet evening gown, worn for an official portrait by Lord Snowdon and at the gala opening of Les Misérables at the Barbican Centre in 1985, sold for £50,400 to a British museum. They also purchased a pink sequinned crepe dress by Catherine Walker, worn on a state visit to Brazil in 1991, for £78,000. | A Bruce Oldfield black velvet evening gown, worn for an official portrait by Lord Snowdon and at the gala opening of Les Misérables at the Barbican Centre in 1985, sold for £50,400 to a British museum. They also purchased a pink sequinned crepe dress by Catherine Walker, worn on a state visit to Brazil in 1991, for £78,000. |
| A sequinned sea-green Catherine Walker evening gown, worn for a state visit to Austria in 1989, sold for £90,000, going to an Austrian bidder. | A sequinned sea-green Catherine Walker evening gown, worn for a state visit to Austria in 1989, sold for £90,000, going to an Austrian bidder. |
| A white chiffon cocktail dress by Zandra Rhodes, worn to the Birthright benefit event at the London Palladium in 1987, was sold for £48,000. | A white chiffon cocktail dress by Zandra Rhodes, worn to the Birthright benefit event at the London Palladium in 1987, was sold for £48,000. |
| A second Victor Edelstein dress, a bottle-green velvet evening gown which Diana wore for private entertaining, according to the auction house, was sold for £24,000, the lowest price of any of the dresses in the sale. | A second Victor Edelstein dress, a bottle-green velvet evening gown which Diana wore for private entertaining, according to the auction house, was sold for £24,000, the lowest price of any of the dresses in the sale. |
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