A collection of items once owned by members of the royal family, including dresses and notes by the late Princess Diana, has sold for more than £4 million at an auction in California.
The sale featured over 200 items and was described by auctioneers as the most extensive collection of Diana’s personal belongings since her own charity auction two months before her death in 1997.
The highlight of the sale was a magenta silk and lace off-the-shoulder evening dress designed by British designer Victor Edelstein, which Diana wore in London and Germany in 1987. The dress sold for $910,000 (£720,000), four-and-a-half times its original lower estimate.
Edelstein also designed the famous navy blue dress Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985.
The auction, titled “Princess Diana’s Elegance & A Royal Collection,” was held at The Peninsula Beverly Hills in Los Angeles on June 26 and included pieces from Diana’s favorite designers such as Edelstein, Caroline Charles, and Catherine Walker.
A midnight blue strapless gown by Murray Arbeid, which Diana wore twice in 1986 and to a Royal Opera House performance of Cinderella in 1987, exceeded its estimate, selling for $780,000 (£617,000), almost four times its lower estimate.
A pink floral silk shirt dress by Walker, worn by Diana to Prince William’s sports day at Richmond Stadium in 1988 and when leaving Prince Harry’s school in Notting Hill in 1992, sold for $444,500 (£352,000). A portion of the proceeds from this gown will benefit Muscular Dystrophy UK, along with other specified lots.
The auction also featured more than 20 handwritten letters, notes, and holiday cards from Princess Diana. Many of these were written to Maud Pendrey, a former housekeeper at the Spencer family home at the Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire, where Diana grew up.
A three-page handwritten letter to Mrs. Pendrey from 1984, written when Diana was pregnant with Harry, sold for nearly 15 times its estimate at $44,450 (£35,000).
Another two-page handwritten letter to Mr. and Mrs. Pendrey from Diana in 1985, which included reference photos of William and Harry, was also featured in the auction.