Not long before her 1997 death, Princess Diana famously auctioned off 79 of her most famous dresses. It was an idea that her eldest son, Prince William, came up with, and proceeds from the Christie's auction went toward charities close to Diana's heart. Fast forward to 2025 and Julien's Auctions is holding the biggest sale of the late royal's fashion ever on June 26—and its executive director said some of the bidders could end up being the royals themselves.
Martin Nolan, executive director and co-founder of Julien’s Auctions, recently spoke with Hello!’s "A Right Royal Podcast" during a London press preview of the upcoming Princess Diana's Style & A Royal Collection event.
When asked if Prince Harry or Prince William might bid on some of their mother's outfits, Nolan said, "I would expect that they are tempted and expect that they do and expect they have representatives who buy on their behalf." The auction pro added, "And that’s understandable. I would, too."
Nolan continued that some of the outfits are pieces that Diana wore during outings with Harry and William, such as a magenta ski suit she wore on several vacations between 1985 and 1992. The Head design is expected to fetch between $30,000 and $50,000.
"You see the ski suit and the great photographs of them or the shoes that she wore when she went to the dinosaur exhibition at the Museum of Natural History here," Nolan said. "You know, like all of those, they’re memories for them. It’s their mum. She’s the most famous person in the world, but of course they would love to own some of these and preserve them for their own memories."
In 1997, a teenaged Prince William convinced his mother to put some of her famous dresses up for auction. Speaking on the Channel 5 documentary Diana, In Her Own Words, the late royal's friend Debbie Frank said (via the Express), "The idea of auctioning the dresses came from William. She told me so herself and she was so proud of him for coming up with that idea."
The public will likely never know whether Harry or William ends up bidding on any of their mother's outfits on June 26, but it's nice to think that her "Caring Dress" or honeymoon hat could end up back with her family, after all.
