Whatever happened to Princess Diana's Regamus ball gown?

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Worn at a ball at Althorp, her family's ancestral estate in 1979, there was little to indicate the global star she would become. At the time of her engagement she had 'one long dress, one skirt and one smart pair of shoes.' When Madame Tussauds requested a dress for her wax figure, Diana gave them this one. You can view the figure here. It was not part of the Christie's auction, but it is still interesting to see how Diana's style evolved from Lady Diana Spencer to the fashion icon who continues to intrigue to this day. 

This off the shoulder, 'Deb gown' was designed by the Couture House of Regamus. It has a nylon lace overlay, with velvet ribbon detail and a matching scarf. Diana and her mother found this dress in the 'French Room' at Harrods. Regamus was a popular brand for aristocratic ladies making their start in fashionable society. 

In 2005, Madame Tussauds auctioned this dress. A bidding war ensued between Kensington Palace and an American nurse, Wendy Rogers-Morris, who is an avid collector of Diana memorabilia. Surprisingly, Kensington Palace lost out. This dress has been exhibited at the Dresses of Inspiration exhibit and at Kensington Palace. 

I cannot locate auction information for Ms. Rogers-Morris to the current owners, Museo de la Moda, in Santiago, Chile. If you visit their Instagram, you can see a short clip of them working on the dress. 

© Marilyn Braun 2020 

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Sources

Diana and the language of her clothes

Lady Diana Spencer Althorp Ball Gown

Her Fashion Story

The only dress she owned when she got engaged

Whatever happened to Princess Diana's strapless black Emanuel dress?

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That dress. It wasn't included in the Christie's auction. Surprisingly, it didn't even belong to Diana. It is as iconic as the Revenge dress, but arguably, not as well known. Nonetheless, it marked a turning point in public perception, bookending distinct fashion styles. The 'revenge dress' was seen as powerful, a jettison of the past and royal expectations. The engagement dress was seen as a misstep before she was expected to fall into line. Lady Diana Spencer was 19 year old at her first official event after the engagement announcement. Who knew this unremarkable, nursery school teacher, could be so dazzling? The royals and the press clearly did not know what would hit them. 

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The dress was created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. It was made of black silk taffeta, with embroidered with black sequins. It was strapless, low cut with a tight corseted bodice and full gathered skirt. Diana would wear many of their outfits including the pink blouse she wore for her Vogue cover shoot and the Diaghliv dress. But no outfits were more significant than this and the wedding dress of the century.  

However, it was not made for Diana. It wasn't new and it had already been lent to actress Liza Goddard. It was a sample Diana saw, hanging on a rail, when she visited their store looking for a 'grown up' dress to wear. She tried it on and loved it and the couple made a shawl of the same material so she could cover up on the night. Little did the Emmanuel's know what a furor the dress would cause, when Diana bent over to step out of the limousine. When Prince Charles exited the car first, he said to the waiting media, 'You want to see what's coming next'. 

She wore the dress on March 9, 1981, at a music and verse recital at Goldsmiths' Hall; her first public event with Prince Charles, after the engagement announcement. At this event she met Princess Grace of Monaco, who was giving a poetry reading at the event. She commiserated with Diana over the media frenzy, joking that it would get a lot worse. Diana's first solo engagement as a member of the royal family would be Princess Grace's 1983 funeral. 

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Although the press and public loved the dress and instantly raised Diana to fashion icon status, the royals were not as impressed. For the royals, black was worn at funerals, not for glamorous events. Forget that Queen Elizabeth II  and Princess Margaret had both worn similar black, strapless gowns in their day; albeit with less cleavage showing. The next day, photos of Diana made headlines, relegating UK Budget Day to the middle of the newspaper. The Iranian edition of Time also found the dress too revealing and had her bare shoulders blacked in. 

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After the event, Diana had lost so much weight in the lead up to the royal wedding, she returned the gown to have it taken in. Instead, the Emmanuel's kept the original and made Diana a new, smaller version. Which Diana wore a few years later, without the original's memorable effect. 

 It was auctioned on June 8, 2010 by Kerry Taylor auctions for $276,000. The winning bidder was Fundacion Museuo De La Moda in Chile. Their museum boasts the largest collection of Diana's auctioned dresses. The owner of the museum, Jorge Yarur announced, upon his death, this gown and all of the other Diana dresses he owns, will be donated to Kensington Palace. 

© Marilyn Braun 2020 

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Sources

Diana - The Fashion Princess by Davina Hanmer and Tim Graham

A Dress for Diana - David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel

'Iconic' Diana dress sells for $276,000

Symbol of Enigmatic Princess Up for Auction

Diana engagement dress sells for £192,000

A Dress A Day Profile Continues with the Black Strapless Taffeta Gown by the Emanuels

Long-lost dress of Princess Diana's sells for £192,000

Royal Book Challenge: Settling Down by James Whitaker

Book 11/500

Settling Down by James Whitaker
128 Pages
Published 1981
ISBN: 0704333856

Hard to believe, but at one point Prince Charles was one of the worlds most eligible bachelors. The media was just as interested in his relationships, maybe even more so, than Prince William's bachelor status 30 years later.

In his time the prince was linked with several women, whether he went out with them or not. Settling Down focuses on the courtship of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Whitaker holds nothing back about his efforts to get the exclusive story, which is far more interesting than the rest of the book. Unlike other books written about their relationship, Diana is not presented as Cinderella, nor is Charles presented as Prince Charming. Whitaker doesn't romanticize either of them. Diana is shrewd, cunning and not even remotely like the 'Shy Di' of lore. And Charles is portrayed as someone 'fond' of Diana but not really in love with her. Hardly the stuff of fairy tales.

No biography of Charles would be complete without covering his relationships with his married friends. Camilla Parker Bowles in particular enjoys 'looking after' him (his quotes, not mine) and states that Diana would 'never come to resent' Charles' friendship with her. In retrospect it was a naive statement to make.

The last chapter recaps the women he dated or was linked to. Including those who introduced him to 'the delights of the bedroom' , the flings with suitable aristocrats, unsuitable worldly blonde's, and the smart women who turned him down. Looking back, with all of the warning signs, it's a shame Diana wasn't one of them.

© Marilyn Braun 2012

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Kate Middleton's Royal Wedding Dress Prerogative

Out of all of the inescapable royal wedding coverage, Kate Middleton's royal wedding dress is the subject of endless speculation. Who will design it? What style will she wear? And on and on it goes..

Royal Wedding dresses are the subject of intense speculation and this rabid desire for information is nothing new. In the absence of any real news, media outlets try to desperately get the scoop on what this dress will look like with the chosen designers resorting to subterfuge to avoid leaks.

Case in point, the designers of Diana, Princess of Wales' wedding dress resorted to hiring a safe and a security guard to protect the dress while it was being made. They would try to throw the press off the scent by putting fabric swatches of different colors in their garbage. Samantha Shaw, who designed Sophie Rhys Jones' wedding dress, quietly disappeared to a secret address to complete the project, Norman Hartnell, who designed Princess Elizabeth's dress in 1947, white-washed the windows of his workroom.

Much has been made of why Kate has not announced the name of her designer. But looking at the experiences of previous royal wedding gown designers, it's difficult to blame Kate for wanting to avoid putting a designer through the ordeal. But Kate has many designers who would love the commission. Rumor has it that Kate has already chosen a designer or at least has a short list to choose from. One of them is reportedly Bruce Oldfield, a favorite of Diana, Princess of Wales. However with his multiple media appearances it's unlikely he's been commissioned to design Kate's dress.

But previous royal brides, such as Princess Anne, Diana, Fergie and Sophie have chosen relatively little-known designers. Maureen Baker was the chief designer for Susan Small, made Princess Anne's 1973 wedding dress. The Emmauel's had graduated from the Royal College of Design four years before Lady Diana Spencer approached them. Lesotho born Lindka Cierach's first commission was a wedding dress for a Bahrain princess, but she received global acclaim as Sarah Ferguson's designer. Low profile society designer Samantha Shaw made Sophie Rhys Jones' 1999 dress.

It would not be surprising if Kate followed the trend and chose a little known designer for her own dress. Unlike Bruce Oldfield, they may shun publicity to focus on the quality of the dress and maintain the discretion that Kate is entitled to on her wedding day.

Fingers crossed she gets it.

© Marilyn Braun 2011

Royal Focus: Kate Middleton's Royal Engagement Ring

When Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement to the world on November 16th, they revealed the much speculated engagement ring. This ring, once belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales, caused some controversy, one of the few times in royal history that a piece of jewellery has done so.

I have written about this ring before in my post called Royal Engagement Rings. The ring, an oval 18-carat, sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds, is interestingly enough, it was not unique. Featured in the catalogues of Garrards Jewellers, the royal family's official jeweller, it cost $65,000 at the time. Choosing a sapphire for a royal engagement ring is not unusual, The Princess Royal's and the late Queen Mother's original engagement ring were both sapphires.  Regarding the ring, Diana herself recalled: 'A briefcase comes along on the pretext that Andrew is getting a signet ring for his 21st birthday and along comes these sapphires - I mean 'nuggets! - I suppose I chose it, we all chipped in. The Queen paid for it.'

The choice has provoked discussion amongst royal watchers as to whether it is appropriate for Kate to wear the ring.  Some feel that just because Diana wore the ring, it should not be seen as a bad omen or curse. Others feel that the couple should have made a fresh start. The ring, beautiful though it is, is so strongly associated with Diana, that for the rest of Kate's life she will have the constant reminder of Diana whether she likes it or not. Comparisons are inevitable, the ring more than guarantees that.

When asked why he had chosen to give his fiancee his mother's ring, William replied: 'it was my way of making sure that my mother didn’t miss out on today, all the excitement and the fact that we are going to be spending the rest of our lives together.' Thus making the choice a moot point for the rest of us.

© Marilyn Braun 2010