Princess Diana Dress Auction

19 March 2013, 19:15 | Updated: 19 March 2013, 19:24

10 dresses have sold for more than £800,000 at an auction in London.

The one she wore to dance with John Travolta in the 1980s has sold at auction for £240,000 to an anonymous bidder who said he wanted to surprise his wife.

The off-the-shoulder midnight blue velvet gown captivated the public when the late princess was pictured wearing it as she was twirled around the dancefloor by the Hollywood star during a visit to the US in 1985.

It was the star lot in a sale of 10 of Diana's dresses at vintage fashion auctioneers Kerry Taylor Auctions in London.

Auctioneer Kerry Taylor said:

"It was bought by a British gentleman who said he wanted to buy it as a surprise to cheer up his wife. I hope that the sale has really made someone's day."

She added that the new owner of the gown, which reached the top price of the sale, was a "lucky woman".

The dresses were originally sold, along with a number of others, by Diana herself following her divorce from the Prince of Wales to raise money for charity at the suggestion of Prince William.

American Maureen Rorech Dunkel initially bought the dresses as a long-term investment, but after Diana's death in 1997 she decided to exhibit them to raise money for good causes.

The collection, dubbed Fit For a Princess, reached a total of £862,800. Miss Taylor described the dresses as "a little history of Diana's life through her clothes".