While over 300 of Princess Diana‘s personal effects, including many of her iconic designer dresses, are set to go under the hammer at a private auction on Thursday, June 26, her coats are conspicuously absent from the collection — and the heartwarming reason why has now been revealed.
These beloved garments have actually never been put up for auction or sale,despite “Princess Diana’s Style & A Royal Collection” by Julien’s Auctions featuring a wide array of her personal belongings.
Martin Nolan, co-founder and executive director of Julien’s Auctions, explained the touching truth behind this absence in a People interview published Friday, May 30.
“We learnt through this how generous Diana was, always giving items,” he shared. “And you never see a coat from Diana come to auction because she used to get her butler or her staff or friends to drive around London [in] January, February, [in the] freezing cold.”
Nolan further elaborated on the Princess of Wales’ quiet acts of charity, stating, “She’d find homeless people and give them her coats.” He emphasized that this wasn’t an isolated incident, adding, “That’s how she was — without any spectacle or whatever.”
Diana’s fashion choices were not just about aesthetics; they were a form of self-expression and empowerment, with every outfit telling a story. Her generous spirit extended beyond her personal wardrobe.
Among the items hitting the auction block is Princess Diana’s 1986 Catherine Walker Falcon evening gown. Nolan described the piece, saying, “This beautiful dress was designed by Catherine Walker, with the falcons in migration mode all the way down the back. She wore this to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on a royal visit back in the late 1980s.”
He also noted the dress’s historical significance: “When Diana did her own auction in 1997, just two months before she suddenly passed away, this was one of the dresses that she sold for charity. She sold over 70 gowns at the behest of her son, Prince William, and to raise money for her charities. She raised over $3 million, which was huge at that time.”
Diana’s approach to her wardrobe also reflected her desire to support British designers. “She worked with Anna Harvey from British Vogue, an editor, and other designers because she always wanted to spotlight British designers and up-and-coming designers,” Nolan explained.
However, as she became a global icon, her advisors encouraged her to broaden her sartorial horizons. As Nolan told the publication, “So then she started wearing Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Versace. So she wore more of the more internationally known brands.”
Case in point? The most highly anticipated accessory in the collection is Princess Diana’s Lady Dior bag. Nolan recounted its fascinating origin: “When Princess Diana was in France in September 1995, Bernadette Chirac was the First Lady of France at the time. She wanted to give Diana a gift, so she chose a Dior bag. She called up Dior. They gave her the Chouchou bag, which this bag was initially known as.”
He continued, “And it was fabric. When Bernard Arnault was told that this gift was going to happen, he said, ‘Retract it,’ because this was a prototype, because they were now doing this bag in lambskin.”
This led to the iconic exchange: “So [they] took back the fabric one, gifted this to Diana, and this is the bag she wore when she went to Argentina in November 1995.”
The Chouchou bag then became so popular that they renamed it the Lady Dior bag.
“And it’s the most talked about, sought-after item that we could have in this entire lot,” Nolan said. “People just love, love, love this bag. If you were to buy it in the high street today, [it] cost you somewhere between $6,500 and $7,000, if you could get it. We estimate this one, Princess Diana’s, [will go for] $20,000 to $40,000, but it’ll go to the roof.”
Princess Diana’s Style & A Royal Collection is set to begin on Thursday, June 26, at 10 a.m. PT at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.
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