A collection of royal memorabilia, including dresses, coats, letters and more, belonging to notable figures such as Wallis Simpson and Princess Diana, went up for sale in California, near where Harry and Meghan live.
One of Diana’s gowns, an elegant midnight blue tulle strapless gown by Murray Arbeid adorned with diamond stars, sold for an impressive $780,000 at the luxurious Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills on June 27.
The auction, organized by Julien’s Auctions and called “Princess Diana’s Elegance & A Royal Collection,” touted Diana as a Hollywood star.
Julien’s stated that the auction not only preserves Diana’s enduring legacy, but also pays tribute to the British monarchy’s broader influence on popular culture, spanning centuries of royal elegance and fascination.
The top-selling item, a black lace Victor Edelstein gown, reached an impressive $910,000 in the sale, while many other gowns reached bids in the high six figures.
The aforementioned Arbeid gown, which Princess Diana wore to the 1986 premiere of “The Phantom of the Opera,” “epitomized the era’s zeitgeist, sparked ‘Di-mania’ and solidified her status as a fashion icon,” according to Julien’s.
Elsewhere in the auction, there were several items of memorabilia of historic monarchs; a pair of green monogrammed slippers of the disgraced King Edward VIII sold for more than $5,000, exceeding its estimate almost by a factor of ten.
Meanwhile, a Maximilian fur coat that belonged to Wallis Simpson after the royal couple was banished from Britain fetched five times its estimate, selling for $5,200.
But what raised some eyebrows from many was the location of the auction because of its proximity to the home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live on the U.S. West Coast in Montecito.