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After touring a select few items belonging to the late Princess Diana, the hammer dropped hard and fast at the auction held by Julien’s on June 27, 2024, at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
It was the largest collection of the Princess’s possessions to go up for sale in twenty-five years. The lots included dresses, shoes, hats, handbags, accessories, and ephemera, including letters written to friends, holiday cards, and signed photographs. Also included were items owned by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, including a Givenchy Haute Couture crepe silk evening gown worn by the Duchess to the White House in 1970.
Photo courtesy: Brenda Kelley Kim
However, the item that brought the highest price was one of the Princess’s custom evening gowns. Created by designer Victor Edelstein, Diana wore the dress twice in 1987, once in London and once in Hamburg, Germany. Edelstein created the dress with black lace and magenta silk underneath; the dress sold for $910,000, absolutely eclipsing the estimated price range of $200,000–400,000. The dress came from a private collection. Christie’s sold the dress at an auction shortly before Diana’s tragic death in 1997.
A pair of emerald satin evening pumps by Kurt Geiger, estimated to sell for $2,000–4,000, went through the roof with bids, eventually reaching a final bid of $390,000. The Princess wore the shoes to a 1993 State Banquet at the Dorchester Hotel in London.
Photo courtesy: Brenda Kelley Kim
Fifteen of the most sought-after lots from the auction went to Renae Plant, the founder of the Princess and the Platypus Foundation and curator of the Princess Diana Museum.
When the bids were all in and the auction gaveled to a close, the total sales reached $5.5 million. In a statement, Julien’s co-founder Martin Nolan said, “The phenomenal results of today’s historic auction held just a few days before Princess Diana’s birthday demonstrates why Diana is and always will remain one of the world’s most beloved and inspiring cultural figures.”
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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