Diana had kept it for three years. It seemed too daring for her proper princess image, so she had never dared to wear it.
Everything changed on the night of June 29, 1994. While Diana attended a gala at London’s Serpentine Gallery, the then-Prince Charles confessed on national television to his infidelity with Camilla Parker Bowles. Rather than canceling her appearance or hiding, Diana took the black silk dress that designer Christina Stambolian had created for her and put it on.
The whole world interpreted the gesture as a silent response: while her husband explained himself on camera, she appeared radiant, confident, and impossible to ignore. Thus, the nickname “revenge dress” was born.
In 1997, Diana herself auctioned it for charity, and a Scottish couple bought it for around 39.000 pounds. Almost 30 years later, following its owner’s death, the piece is going up for auction again. Sotheby’s will auction it in New York on December 9, with an estimated value of up to 300.000 dollars. Part of the proceeds will go to a hospital in Edinburgh.