Enlarge imagePhoto: RACHEL ADAMS / REUTERS
In the attic, one of the founders of the fashion company Warm & Wonderful found a sweater in March. And on closer inspection, it turned out to be legendary: it was a piece of clothing that Princess Diana, who died in an accident in 1997, wore for the first time in June 1981 when she watched Prince Charles play polo. Just one month later, the two married – the dramatic course and the unpleasant end of the connection are well known and have long been the subject of books, films and series.
Now the designer piece, which so unexpectedly resurfaced, is to be auctioned off at Sotheby's. The auction house will offer it online between the end of August and mid-September. The knitwear company is hoping for at least 50,000 US dollars in proceeds.
The motif on the fiery red sweater is interesting: there is a single black sheep in a herd whiter. Even then, there had been speculation about a possible personal significance of the picture for Diana and her role in the royal family.
Because of damage to the cuff, Diana's private secretary had once sent in the sweater and asked »Warm & Wonderful« to repair the damage. A few months later, Diana received a spare sweater, in which she can be seen in a photo in 1983.
"The fact that she wanted a replacement sweater and then wore it two years later speaks volumes about how important that sweater was to her," Cynthia Houlton of Sotheby's told Reuters. The garment will be auctioned off together with the two letters from the private secretary.
Sotheby's has already auctioned off a Diana evening gown designed by Victor Edelstein earlier this year for more than $600,000, five times its estimated value.
ala/Reuters