- Dresses originally purchased by businesswoman Ellen Petho for $150,000 in 1997
- Petho has raised more than $1 million for charity by exhibiting dresses across the US
Three of Princess Diana’s dresses have sold at auction for £1.3 million, shattering expected sales prices.
A red silk Bruce Oldfield dress worn by the princess at the 1991 film premiere of Hot Shots had an estimated minimum retail price of $200,000 (£160,450), but sold for $571,500 (£458,480) on Friday.
A custom black velvet and ivory Catherine Walker dress she wore to a private event sold for $508,000 (£407,540) – more than eight times its lower estimate of $60,000 (£48,130).
The black and jade dress by the same designer, which Diana wore to a gala in Canada in 1991, had a minimum estimate of $100,000 (£80,220), but also went for $571,500.
Julien’s Auctions, in Beverly Hills, California, sold the dresses as part of the Legends: Hollywood & Royalty auction.
Three Princess Diana dresses have sold at auction for £1.3 million – shattering expected sales prices, including a red silk Bruce Oldfield dress worn at the 1991 Hot Shots film premiere that sold for $571,500 (£458,480) was sold.
A custom-made black velvet and ivory Catherine Walker dress worn by Princess Diana at a private event sold for $508,000 (£407,540) – more than eight times its lower estimate of $60,000 (£48,130)
Martin Nolan, executive director of the auction house, said: ‘Our record sales of these dresses have exceeded all expectations.’
The dresses were originally purchased by Ellen Petho, an American businesswoman who paid $150,000 for five of Princess Diana’s dresses at a Christie’s auction in New York in June 1997, with the money she had saved to buy a house.
The gowns had been donated by Princess Diana to raise money for charity, two months before her death.
Ms Petho, who died in January aged 82, also raised more than £1million for charity by exhibiting the dresses in the US.
Her daughter, Karrie, 60, told the Mail: ‘Our mother read the inscription in it (the auction catalogue) in which Prince William told his mother that the dresses should not be in her wardrobe; that they should go into the world and do good.
“I think that inspired her.”
The black and jade dress by the same designer, which Diana wore to a gala in Canada in 1991, had a minimum estimate of $100,000 (£80,220), but also went for $571,500.
Ms Petho’s widower, Louis, 83, sold the gowns on Friday to raise money for a bursary fund for adult art and design students.
Other items at the auction included a pink Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which sold for $444,500 (£356,600), and the wedding rings of actors Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, which sold for $190,500 (£ 152,830).