Princess Diana dress sells for record $1.1 million at auction

An evening dress worn by the late Princess Diana has sold for $1.1 million, 11 times its estimate, breaking the record price for one of her gowns going under the hammer, Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions said.

Diana first wore the black and blue ballerina-length evening dress, by designer Jacques Azagury, in Florence in 1985. She was also photographed in it a year later on a visit to Vancouver, the auction house said. The dress, along with a matching illustration, sold for$1,148,080, Julien's Auctions said on Sunday, after listing it with an estimate of $100,000 - $200,000.

"Julien’s now holds the new world record for most expensive dress worn by Princess Diana sold at auction," it said in a statement, adding that the previous auction record was $604,800.

The dress is made up of a long black velvet bodice embroidered with blue stars and a two-tier blue organza skirt adorned with a sash and bow. It was sold as part of the four-day Hollywood Legends sale by Julien's Auctions and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), which featured a range of memorabilia.

A pink chiffon blouse which Diana wore for her 1981 engagement portrait to then Prince Charles by Lord Snowdon sold for $381,000. The blouse, by David and Elizabeth Emanuel who went on to design Diana's wedding dress, had an estimate of $80,000 - $100,000.

The other two items sold were a scarlet red silk Bruce Oldfield gown and two designs by Catherine Walker: a black silk velvet and white silk crepe strapless gown. Worn by Princess Diana to the premiere of the film Hot Shots! starring Charlie Sheen in November 1991, the short-sleeved ruched Bruce Oldfield dress went for $571,500 when it was initially estimated to go for $200,000 (£160,450). 

The black and jade Catherine Walker design with a minimum purchase price of $100,000 — which was worn by the princess to a gala dinner at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Canada, in 1991 — was bought for $571,500, per Daily Mail.

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