Rare Princess Diana Dresses Bought By an Unnamed British Museum
A British museum has bought two of Princess Diana's most famous outfits at an auction held by Kerry Taylor Auctions.
"The institution hasn't given me permission to release their names," said a spokesperson for Kerry Taylor Auctions. "But it's so often that I have these pieces and they go abroad, but for once I am very pleased to say that they have stayed in the country."
One of the pieces, a sequinned dress by Catherine Walker first worn by Princess Diana on a state visit to Austria in 1986, was sold for £80,000.
A tartan dress by the Emanuels, which Diana sported in Venice in 1985, was sold for £9,000.
"It is very rare to find daywear because, although Diana had this big auction in 1997 of her glamorous eveningwear, daywear and outfits she wore with the little princes are less easy to find, because they were just disposed of," said a spokesperson from Kerry Taylor. "This particular outfit was bought from a posh second-hand shop. It had been taken there, I am told, by Sarah Ferguson's mother, who was taking clothes that Diana and Fergie no longer wanted, and that's how it came to my client."
The yet-to-be-named museum also bought a third piece – a tartan suit worn by the Duke of Windsor – implying that they are building up a collection of regal clothing.
"All three royal pieces have found a wonderful new home in Britain, and I'm very pleased to have played a part in achieving that," said the auctioneer.
