Princess Diana's gown record sale faked, says report

The blue velvet dress the Princess of Wales wore at the dinner hosted by then US President Ronald Reagan became one of the most famous dresses in her wardrobe.

In June, it was reported that the “Travolta” gown fetched a whopping 510,000 pounds at an auction. But, it now turns out that the dress was never sold, the Sunday Telegraph reported. “Nor did a further nine gowns, all once owned by Princess Diana, which were said to have been sold at the same auction for a little over two million pounds,” the report said.

Their ownership is now in dispute and is likely to lead to a flurry of legal claims against the Florida-based businesswoman who tried to sell them. The auction house, meanwhile, is being accused of holding a “fake” sale, the report added. The “Travolta” dress, designed by Victor Edelstein, was first sold — at Princess Diana’s instigation — along with 13 others from her wardrobe at an auction in New York in 1997, with the proceeds going to charity. The dresses were bought for 420,000 pounds by Maureen Dunkel. Within two months Princess Diana was dead, prompting Dunkel to announce she would take the costumes around the world in an exhibition called Dresses For Humanity.