The largest collection of Princess Diana’s most famous and frequently photographed evening wearSuits, shoes, handbags and accessories have been around since the historic Auction at Christie’s in June 1997, retrieved 5.5 million US dollars in Los Angeles on Thursday and exceeded all expectations.
Auction House Julien’s organized Princess Diana’s elegance and a royal collection – A total of 50 lots containing items belonging to the late Queen went under the hammer in Gardena, California, including some of her most famous dresses.
Which item was the best seller at Julien’s Princess Diana auction?
A lace evening dress by Victor Edelstein with which Diana was photographed on 25 January in London and on 6 November 1987 in Hamburg, was Expected proceeds between 200,000 and 400,000 US dollars However, the sale price was more than double the estimate, with the sale price being $910,000, making it the highest-selling item of the three-hour auction.
It was Diana’s most extensive collection of personal items since she donated 79 cocktail and evening gowns to a charity auction in Manhattan just months before her untimely death in Paris.
A Catherine Walker two-piece costume in yellow and navy which Diana wore during a trip to Hong Kong in November 1989 and on other occasions also performed better than expected. It was estimated at $30,000 to $50,000, but sold for 325,000 US dollars.
One of the many other items that exceeded the estimate was Lot 5: A Strapless midnight blue tulle dress by Murray Arbeid decorated with diamond stars. Diana was photographed wearing the dress several times – the first time in October 1986, when she The Phantom of the opera Premiere at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London; and to a dinner with King Constantine of Greece at Claridge’s in July of the same year and to a ballet performance by Cinderella at the Royal Opera House on 17 December 1987.
Diana’s personal handwritten letters exceed estimates
The pre-auction estimate for the dress is $200,000 to $400,000. but made 780,000 US dollarsOther items were sold for many times their original estimated value, including a Rayne semi-circular clutch in purple leatherDiana on an official royal trip to Hong Kong in 1989. A more affordable item with an estimated value of $2,000 to $4,000, the bag was sold at 88,900 USD when the hammer struck.
Not all of the items auctioned were personal items of clothing – there were also 20 handwritten letters, Remarks And personal postcards sent by Diana, many of them to her former housekeeper in Northamptonshire, Maud Pendrey. All were sold for amounts above their estimated value – a three-page handwritten letter to Mrs Pendrey in late July 1984, in which Diana was heavily pregnant with her second son Harrysold for almost 15 times its estimated price, $44,450.
A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to various charities, including Muscular Dystrophy UK. The world record for a dress worn by a member of the royal family at auction was determined when a velvet evening dress with padded shoulders and a low waist designed by Jacques Azagury, worn by Diana on a visit to Florence, Italy in 1985, sold for $1,148,080 at the same Hollywood auction house in December last year.
