Princess Diana's dresses fetch an eye-watering sum at auction
Three dresses worn by Princess Diana have sold for $2.5 million (AUD) at an auction in Beverly Hills, California.
The gowns were sold in a Legends: Hollywood And Royalty sale, by Julien's Auctions and featured over 1,400 items to celebrate 100 years of Warner Bros.
All three dresses sold for six-figures, with one selling for almost triple it's estimated price.
Martin Nolan, the executive director, said the record-breaking sale of Diana's dresses "exceeded all expectations".
Princess Diana's black and jade gown was the most expensive item, selling for $895,580.
The dress was made by Catherine Walker - her personal designer for over 16 years - which she wore to a gala event in Toronto, Canada, in October 1991.
The second most expensive dress sold was a red silk dress made by Bruce Oldfield, which she wore to the premiere of Hot Shots at the Odeon Leicester Square the following month.
The Oldfield dress fetched a stunning $895,547 - which was almost triple it's estimated $312,000 price tag.
The final dress was a custom-made black velvet and ivory gown Diana wore to a private function, which was also designed by Walker, and fetched $796,070.
The original price of the velvet and ivory gown was estimated to be around $93,000 - $125,000.
The three dresses have not been seen in public for over 30 years, according to the auction house.
They were originally bought by American businesswoman Ellen Petho, who bought five of Princess Diana's dresses for $234,000 at an auction in New York.
Petho, who passed away in January aged 82, ended up only keeping three of the dresses, which her husband has now sold to help raise money for a scholarship fund for mature art and design students in memory of his wife.
Petho's daughter Karrie, told the Mail: "Our mother read the inscription inside [the auction catalogue] about Prince William telling his mother that the dresses should not sit in her closet, that they should be out in the world and doing good. I think that's what inspired her."
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