Princess Diana’s Dresses Sell for Half a Million Dollars at LA Auction

Five of Princess Diana's glamorous dresses fetched nearly half a million dollars at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills.

Britain's late royal originally auctioned the dresses in Paris a month before she died in 1997 at the age of 36. The anonymous winners put them up for an auction sale in Los Angeles 20 years after the original auction, said The Daily Mail.

British dressmaker Catherine Walker, who was also Diana's personal dressmaker and close friend for 16 years, made three of the gowns.
The Catherine Walker dresses all fetched within or just above their estimated price of between $60,000 and $80,000.

An off-the-shoulder petal pink gown embellished with bands of simulated pearls, faceted glass and beadwork, which Diana wore to the Savoy Theatre in London in 1993, sold for $75,000.

Also on offer was a strapless ivory silk crepe dress which went for $76,800, while a chartreuse silk georgette gown worn by Diana in 1993 fetched $81,250.

From after Princess Diana's wedding to Princes Charles in 1981 up to her death, Walker created over 1,000 outfits for the late royal.

Another dress offered at the auction was a cream lace dress designed by Zandra Rhodes and worn by Diana in 1987 to the Birthright Benefit at the London Palladium. It was estimated to sell for $80-100,000 but went for $100,000. 

The Caroline Charles burgundy wool coat dress became the surprise of the night when it beat its pre-sale estimate of $20-40,000 and scored a total of $125,000.

Other Diana-related items, including letters, crockery and a pair of cuff-links commemorating Diana and Prince Charles' wedding, were also up for grabs. In keeping with the royal theme of the auction, also on offer were a slice of cake from the 2011 royal wedding of Diana's son, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, as well as a blank invitation to the wedding printed on Queen Elizabeth II's Buckingham Palace stationery.