It has become one of the most famous outfits in the history of the British royal family. The "Revenge Dress," the black dress worn by Lady Diana the night Prince Charles publicly admitted his infidelity, will be auctioned by Sotheby's in New York . The sale is scheduled for December 9, 2026, and the dress is estimated to fetch between $150,000 and $300,000.
Nearly 32 years after this now-famous appearance, the dress designed by Christina Stambolian still holds a special place in Diana's story. It was even chosen to dress the wax figure of Lady Diana displayed at the Musée Grévin , a testament to the importance of this outfit in the princess's public image.
June 29, 1994: Charles admits his infidelity; Diana appears in a black dress.
On June 29, 1994, Diana attended a charity event at the Serpentine Gallery in London . She and Charles had been separated since 1992, but their divorce would not be finalized until 1996.
That same evening, British television broadcast "Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role ," a program in which the Prince of Wales admitted to having been unfaithful to his wife. When questioned about his adherence to his marital vows, Charles admitted that his fidelity had ceased when their marriage was irretrievably broken.
All eyes then turned to Diana. Rather than remaining apart, the princess appeared before the photographers wearing a short black silk dress, bare-shouldered, with a plunging neckline and fitted cut. A particularly daring outfit considering the royal family's dress habits at the time.
A dress bought three years earlier but deemed "too daring"
The dress was designed by Christina Stambolian. Diana had commissioned it several years earlier, in 1991, but had never worn it publicly. She had long considered the dress too daring for an official appearance.
That evening, she finally decided to take it out of her wardrobe. She paired it with black pumps, a matching clutch, and most notably, a spectacular pearl and sapphire necklace made around a royal brooch.
The photographs immediately went viral. The British press quickly dubbed the outfit the "Revenge Dress." The garment gradually became inextricably linked to that evening and the breakup between Diana and Charles, now King Charles III.
Sotheby's: "a shield, a weapon, or both at once"
For Sotheby's, the significance of the piece far outweighs its material value. Morgane Halimi, global head of handbags and fashion at the auction house, believes that Diana perfectly understood the power of her clothing choices. "Fashion can be a language when words are no longer enough ," she explains, speaking of the princess.
According to her, this appearance showed that clothing could be used in a much more intentional way than as mere accessories, notably "as a shield, a weapon, or both at the same time ." The dress thus became one of the best-known symbols of the transformation of Diana's image, which was gradually moving away from the constraints imposed by her status as the wife of the future king.
Diana herself sold the dress at auction in 1997
The December sale will have a unique feature: the "Revenge Dress" hasn't been offered at auction for nearly 30 years. In June 1997, Diana decided to sell 79 dresses from her wardrobe at a major charity sale in New York . The money raised was intended to benefit organizations fighting cancer and AIDS. The black dress was purchased by the Scottish couple Briege and Grahame Mackenzie. A few weeks later, on August 31, 1997, Lady Diana died in Paris in the Alma Bridge crash , at the age of 36.
The outfit has remained in its owners' collection ever since and has only been shown to the public on rare occasions. Part of the proceeds from the upcoming sale will be donated to NHS Lothian Charity to benefit the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
Up to $300,000 expected in New York
Sotheby's now estimates the dress at between $150,000 and $300,000, or approximately €128,000 to €256,000. It will be offered on its own during Sotheby's Luxury Week in New York, accompanied by, among other things, a numbered copy of the original 1997 catalog signed by Diana and Christina Stambolian.
Before the December 9th sale, the piece will be presented to the public in several cities, including London , Hong Kong , Geneva , and then New York. In London, it will be on display at Sotheby's from September 18th to 24th.
Memorabilia related to Diana continue to appear regularly on the auction market. In December 2025, a bottle of champagne created for the wedding of Diana and Charles was offered for sale in Denmark , but failed to find a buyer.
This time, Sotheby's is putting up for sale not only a dress that belonged to Diana, but the one that remains linked to one of the most famous nights of her public life.
