10 Things Princess Diana Used That Became Super Expensive Throughout the Years

Princess Diana remains one of the most loved and remembered royals. Throughout the years, her name has appeared in newscasts, magazines, and newspapers for the great legacy she left behind after her death. Her impeccable style and good taste made “Lady Di” one of the greatest fashion icons of the twentieth century. That’s why many of the beloved princess’s belongings have been auctioned off, from clothes and jewelry to her stale wedding cake.

Bright Side compiled a list of objects that once belonged to the Princess of Wales that landed into the hands of collectors.

1. Casual outfits

Princess Diana’s outfits have managed to catch the eyes of fans from all over the world, from bidders to collectors of all kinds of things. In fact, this became so popular, that in 2019, 3 sets of clothes were sold for the sum of 200,000 pounds ($276,230), surpassing almost 3 times the original estimated auction value of the items.

2. Sweatshirt

The Princess of Wales didn’t just wear evening gowns and other types of formal attire. Even though she was an aristocrat, she was also just a normal woman who wore different types of sweatshirts and leggings when going to the gym, for instance. Even if it’s hard to believe, the dark blue sweatshirt that you see in the picture above was auctioned for the sum of $53,532.

This garment, besides being comfortable, was repeatedly worn by Diana to make the paparazzi feel bored when they took pictures of her. Clearly, the trick didn’t work.

3. Handwritten letters

A collection of letters handwritten by the Princess of Wales was sold for approximately 67,900 pounds (about $93,780) to different sets of people. The 40 missives were sent to her friend, Roger Bramble, between 1990 and 1997, and in them, “Lady Di” talked about her worries and daily activities. Even though many years had passed since the letters were written, collectors wanted to have a memory of the late princess and spared no expense to get a hand on these almost invaluable pieces of evidence of who Diana really was in private.

4. Old blue bicycle

This one’s a classic, and it’s a pretty well-known object that Diana used. We’re talking, of course, about the blue bicycle that was sold for 44,000 pounds ($60,770), double the price set at auction. Before her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana had to get rid of this particular means of transportation because she was told it was “not fit for a princess.”

5. Wedding dress and “backup” shoes

An exact replica of the dress Princess Diana wore on her wedding day was sold for 48,000 pounds ($66,854). The actual shoes she could have worn that day were kept by designer Shilton. However, they were later auctioned for the astonishingly high price of 36,000 pounds ($50,073). In case you were wondering why we said she could have worn them, it was because these were her “backup shoes.” They were intended to be worn at the 1981 royal wedding in case the originals were stained or torn.

6. The dress she wore to dance with John Travolta

The “Travolta” dress is one of Princess Diana’s most memorable outfits, not only because of how beautiful the garment was but also because of the story behind it, of course. It was sold for $290,000 at auction to the Historic Royal Palaces, which means it will probably be displayed at some exhibition in the near future. As we said before, there’s something special about this particular dress. “Lady Di” wore it back in 1985 when she visited the White House and ended up dancing with John Travolta (hence the name given to the garment).

7. Vinyl record collection

As a teenager, and before she became the princess we all know, a young Diana enjoyed collecting vinyl records of her favorite artists. You’d be surprised to know that the future Princess of Wales’ musical preferences included artists like Bob Dylan, The Eagles, and Mozart, along with various classic rock bands. In 2002, Prince William claimed several of his mother’s albums, saying they had been stolen. However, 2 years later, the 19 albums were put up for sale.

8. Her 1981 Ford Escort

The engagement gift from the Prince of Wales to Diana was a 1981 Ford Escort Ghia Saloon. The current owner held the car for 20 years, keeping its origin a secret. It’s estimated that it could be sold at auction for between 30,000 pounds ($41,434) and 40,000 pounds ($55,246).

9. A diamond and pearl necklace

Princess Diana wore this diamond and pearl necklace at the performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall back in 1997. The handmade piece is also known as the “Swan Lake Suite Necklace” because of that. However, this beautiful piece was originally purchased by a Ukrainian couple for 630,000 pounds ($870,124). Little did they know that a few years later, in 2017, it would go to an auction house to be sold for around $12 million.

10. Wedding cake

A piece of cake from the 1981 royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was sold online for about $1,375. Although it’s obviously no longer edible after so many years, some collector wanted to get his hands on the original box, the stale cake, and the card that reads, “With best wishes from Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince and Princess of Wales.”

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen in an auction house? Would you also pay that amount of money to have a piece of Lady Di’s wedding cake? Do you have items in your home that are priceless and could be auctioned?

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