Princess Diana’s engagement portrait blouse could fetch £79,000

A blouse worn by Diana, the Princess of Wales, for her engagement portrait is up for auction.

Worn by the royal for her portrait in 1981, the pink crepe blouse has a ruff-like collar and loose pleats to the front.

Julien’s Auctions has put Diana’s garment up for auction and estimated its value to be between $80,000 (£63,490) and $100,000 (£79,360).

In 2019, the blouse was on display at Kensington Palace as part of the exhibition Diana: Her Fashion Story.

It was created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel – who later went on to design Diana’s wedding gown for her marriage to King Charles, the then-Prince of Wales – and was captured by royal photographer Lord Snowdon.

The National Portrait Gallery said the picture, published in Vogue magazine, coincided with the official announcement of the engagement of Charles and Diana in February 42 years ago.

Julien’s Auctions and TCM Present: Hollywood Legends will be held in Beverly Hills, California, and online from 14 to 17 December.

An evening dress, also worn by Diana, will be available at the same auction.

Designed by Moroccan-born fashion designer Jacques Azagury, it was worn in Florence, Italy, in April 1985 and is estimated to be worth between $100,000 and $200,000 (£158,720).

It comes after the royal’s famous black sheep jumper fetched a record-breaking $1.1m (£904,495) in September.

The auctioneer Sotheby’s said bidding for the sweater jumped from $190,000 (£150,754) to its final price after a 15-minute bidding battle.

it was originally offered with an estimate of between $50,000 to $80,000.

Read more:
Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed seen in first-look of The Crown
Will the King always be living in the shadow of Diana?

It was discovered in an attic in March by designer Joanna Osborne, and features a whimsical black sheep among white ones.

It is also among the initial designs by Osborne and Sally Muir for Warm and Wonderful knitwear, which was founded in 1979.

The garment broke the record set by Diana’s Victor Edelstein aubergine evening gown, which sold for $604,800 in January.