Dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales are expected to fetch up to £830,000 when they go under the hammer later this month.
Many of the gowns will already be familiar to millions after being worn by one of the most photographed women in the world.
Among the 10 cocktail frocks, ballgowns and formal evening dresses up for sale is the Victor Edelstein gown she wore when she danced with John Travolta at the White House.
The image of the Princess in the striking off-the-shoulder midnight blue velvet dress dancing and twirling around with the Hollywood heartthrob captivated the US when she and the Prince of Wales visited in 1985. The dress, which is expected to fetch between £200,000 and £300,000, was previewed yesterday ahead of the sale at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London on March 19.
The items were originally sold at auction along with a number of others by Diana herself to raise money for charity at the suggestion of her son, the Duke of Cambridge, following her divorce from Prince Charles.
One of the buyers, American Maureen Rorech Dunkel, initially bought the 10 dresses as a long-term investment, but after Diana’s death in 1997 she decided to exhibit them to raise money for good causes. They are now being sold by an anonymous seller.
Auctioneer Kerry Taylor said: “It’s probably the last time that these 10 Diana dresses will be seen together because after the auction obviously, they’ll probably be scattered across the world.
“In a way it’s like a little history of Diana’s life through her clothes.”
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