The Crown props: Replicas of Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ and gold state carriage up for grabs in auction
More than 450 props, gowns and sets from all six seasons of Netflix’s The Crown are to be sold in a live and online auction next month with proceeds funding a host of scholarship places for future filmmakers.
Among some of the items, part of an exhibition now open to the public in London, is a replica of the so-called Princess Diana “revenge dress”.
The infamous black silk gown made headlines in 1994 when Diana wore it the same evening Prince Charles admitted adultery in a television interview – and again when fans of the series saw Elizabeth Debicki recreate the look.
Replica outfits worn by the Royal Family
The dress could sell for as much as £12,000, according to Meg Randell, head of fashion at Bonhams.
“As soon as you see the dress, you think ‘oh my goodness it’s Diana’, but also it’s Elizabeth Debicki as Diana,” she said.
“I think the dress itself, just what it represents, is huge. It stops being just a dress. It’s a real moment.
“You know it’s as good as you can get if you’re a fashion collector, a royal fan or a Diana fan – it’s so eye-catching, so I think this one is going to be really popular. We’ve already had lots of people talking about it.”
Another item that’s caught the eye of Bonhams’ director of iconic collections, Charlie Thomas, is the like-for-like gold state coach.
The real one has been used in every coronation since 1831 and in the series it’s used in scenes of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
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The Crown – ‘a drama for entertainment’
Mr Thomas said: “The fact they built a carriage that’s completely unique is incredible. I’ve looked really hard to try and find another reproduction of a gold state carriage and I cannot find one, it’s in fully working order, as you saw in The Crown. So you know if you had six horses, you could strap them up to it and off you go.”
It’s estimated the coach may sell for £50,000.
Replica outfits worn by the Royal Family
Replicas of the late Queen’s regal garments including her coronation ordaining dress, the Imperial Mantle (cloak) and red coronation robe are expected to fetch £30,000.
Among the lots are portraits and location sets too such as the recreation of Number 10 Downing Street’s front door which is thought to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000.
A replica of Queen Elizabeth II ‘s coronation ordaining dress
Princess Diana’s engagement ring, worn by actress Emma Corrin, could go for as much as £3,000.
A reproduction of Princess Margaret’s coronation gown
Mr Thomas said: “We’re already getting interest from all over the world.
“The Crown has been running for almost 10 years, six seasons, and it’s been watched all over the world by millions and millions of people who’ve all fallen in love with that cinematic experience that they’ve offered people at home.
“The sales are about celebrating the costumes, the sets, the decorations, all things that when you watch The Crown and maybe you don’t really pay that much attention to because you’re focusing on the actors, this is all about the people that make the sets that make the costumes and they are absolutely phenomenal.”
A replica of a gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II
Sales from the live auction will go towards funding a new scholarship programme at the National Film and Television School.
The school’s director, Jon Wardle, said it gives a chance for them to uncover new talent.
He said: “Over 20 years, depending on how much money is raised, it will support around 100 students to come to the school so it will mean that they won’t have to pay fees to come and it will make it much more accessible for many, many people across the UK.
“A big thing for us is we will have people with real ability, not just those with the ability to pay. And there are lots of people who have dreams of building their life in film and TV and a scholarship programme can transform the lives of people there.”
A recreation of the 10 Downing Street facade and front door
The exhibition is open to the public until 5 February with the live auction taking place two days later.
Taylor Swift has announced she is getting married to her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce.
The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared the news in a joint post on Instagram, with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
The announcement was liked more than 1.7 million times just over 30 minutes after it was posted.
Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift
Swift and Kelce started their relationship in July 2023, after the three-time Super Bowl winner said on his podcast New Heights that he tried and failed to meet the singer at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.
Rumours grew that the couple were dating after Swift was spotted at a number of Chiefs games. On her seventh time in the stands, she brought her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, along.
Kelce told the Wall Street Journal in November 2023: “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming [to the Eras Tour]?’
“I had somebody playing Cupid… She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”
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From January: Taylor cheers on Travis after Chiefs win
Earlier this month, Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and announced her 12th album, titled The Life Of A Showgirl.
Speaking to her now-fiance and his brother Jason Kelce, Swift said it was inspired by the Eras Tour – and also talked about Travis’s attempt at meeting her two years ago.
While she said his plan to give her his number on a friendship bracelet was a “wild, romantic gesture,” she joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” and thought he would be allowed backstage.
“Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room,” she added. “That’s how it works in 1973.”
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The new album, which will be released on 3 October, marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
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Despite rumours he would retire after losing this year’s Super Bowl, Kelce will play for the Kansas City Chiefs again this season.
He told GQ magazine his on-field performances “slipped a little bit” as he started acting, and added: “I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”
Entertainment
Boy, 16, convicted in Germany over supporting failed terror plot at Taylor Swift concert
A 16-year-old has been convicted in Germany for supporting a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift concerts in Austria last year.
The teenager, named Mohammad A, who cannot be fully identified under Germany’s privacy laws, was convicted of preparing a serious act of violence and supporting a terrorist act of violence abroad.
He was handed a suspended 18-month sentence on Tuesday. According to the court, he made a “comprehensive confession” at his trial, which was held behind closed doors because of his age.
German judges found that the defendant, a Syrian national then aged 14, supported the ideology of the Islamic State group at the time.
The court heard he was also in contact via social media with a young man in Austria who planned to attack a Swift concert in Vienna, had sent him a video with bomb-building instructions, and organised contact with an IS member.
All three of Swift’s concerts at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium were cancelled in August last year after a terror plot was uncovered by authorities.
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Swiftie on cancelled Vienna show
Concert organisers had expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside.
Authorities said the main suspect, now 20, planned to target those outside of the stadium and hoped to “kill as many people as possible”.
Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the directorate of state security and intelligence, added at the time that the suspect was “clearly radicalised in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels”.
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Swift later called the decision to cancel her shows in Austria “devastating,” and said: “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.
“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
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