Princess Diana’s Dancing Dress at White House is up for Sale

Princess Diana wore a midnight blue velvet gown, when she danced with actor John Travolta at the White House in the year 1985. Now the dress is put up for sale. Princess Diana wore the Victor Edelstein dress, when she attended a state dinner hosted by the then US President Ronald Reagan on November 9, 1985 with her husband Prince Charles.

The dinner was immortalized with a photograph of Diana dancing with Travolta to the song ‘You Should be Dancing’ from his film ‘Saturday Night Fever’. The dancing dress is expected to fetch 250,000 Euros to 350,000 Euros ($324,000-$454,000). It is one of three dresses being sold by Kerry Taylor Auctions last December.

The dresses also include a full-sleeved dress by Katherine Cusack, also in midnight-blue velvet from 1986 and a Catherine Walker navy wool day dress from around 1989.

The Edelstein dress was part of a collection of Diana’s dresses that she herself sold for charity at an auction in June 1997, just a month before she was killed in a car crash in Paris.

Diana, Princess of Wales known for her aura and dignity was born Diana Frances Spencer in the year 1 July 1961. She was a member of the British Royal family as the wife of Prince Charles and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her enduring popularity.

She came into prominence in the year 1981 after her engagement with Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of England.  In the course of time, the couple had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who are also second and third in the line of the succession to the British throne. 

Lady Diana’s marriage with Charles suffered due to their incompatibility and extramarital affairs. In the year 1992, the couple separated soon after their disturbing relationship became public. The details of their marital difficulties became more public with time and thus the marriage ended in divorce in 1996.

But Lady Diana’s charisma and friendliness earned her an endeared place in the heart of the people, which also helped her reputation survive after the collapse of her marriage. Her photogenic features made her a leader of fashion in the 1980s and 1990s. Her legacy has had a deep impact on the royal family and the British society.