Princess Diana's prized Jaguar, famously associated with her iconic 'revenge dress' moment 32 years ago, is expected to sell for £100,000 at auction. The princess arrived at the Vanity Fair dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens on June 29, 1994, in the then brand-new green Jaguar XJ40 Sovereign.
The Revenge Dress and Its Significance
As Diana exited the vehicle, she wore an off-the-shoulder black evening gown designed by Christina Stambolian. This statement dress was widely interpreted as a public rebuke to Prince Charles, who had admitted committing adultery in a television interview with Jonathan Dimbleby that same evening. Diana had known in advance of Charles's confession and chose the dress deliberately.
The black off-the-shoulder gown had remained unworn in Diana's wardrobe for three years because she initially feared it was too provocative and revealing for a royal appearance. The dress featured a sweetheart neckline, ruched bodice, asymmetric hemline, and a sash detail falling from the waist. Diana paired the outfit with sheer tights, stilettos, and a sapphire-and-pearl choker necklace that incorporated a brooch originally given to her by the Queen Mother.
The outfit broke several royal conventions: royals traditionally wore black only for mourning, while the dress's short, form-fitting style and Diana's bright red nail polish were considered unusually daring for a royal gala appearance. Stambolian noted that Diana initially wanted the dress to be longer, less revealing, and made in cream rather than black, but eventually agreed to the more daring design after discussions with the designer and her brother.
Royal commentator Tina Brown later described the outfit as Diana's 'f***-you dress' in her book The Diana Chronicles, while newspaper headlines at the time declared: 'Charles blusters as Diana dazzles.'
The Jaguar's Royal History
Diana made regular use of the Jaguar between March 1994 and February 1997, when it left the royal fleet and was acquired by the vendor. She was photographed arriving in it at the Royal School for the Blind in Leatherhead, Surrey, in January 1995, and departing from luxury Brown's Hotel in Mayfair in January 1996.
The four-litre vehicle, with 45,000 miles on the clock, has been preserved in a heated garage for decades and is virtually unused since 2014. Relics of its royal use include a discreet button marked 'security' in the central armrest storage cubby. The car features beige leather upholstery and comes with its original service book.
Mark Livesey, chief executive of The Market, the car auctioneers handling the sale, said: 'Diana was transported all around London and the UK in this Jaguar and famously popped out of it wearing the black revenge dress after Charles had made a confession to the media earlier that day. The dress was a loud and proud rebuke to her husband.'
'Jaguar provided cars to the Royal Family for a very long time and they produced, and continue to produce, very high quality cars. This car was in regular and frequent use from when it was delivered new by Jaguar to Diana's household as part of the royal fleet in March 1994.'
Auction Details and Value
The vehicle's value without provenance would be around £5,000 or £6,000, but with royal provenance, it is expected to spark a bidding war. Livesey noted: 'We previously sold the Queen's Daimler for £105,000 so hopefully this can do similar.'
The online auction begins on June 1, conducted by The Market in south Oxfordshire. The vendor purchased the car in February 1997, just six months before Diana's tragic death in a Paris car crash at age 36 in August 1997.
The Dress as Cultural Artefact
The dress itself later became a valuable cultural artefact. In 1997, Diana sold it as part of a Christie's charity auction of 79 gowns. It was bought for £39,098 by Scottish business owners Graeme and Briege Mackenzie, who used it to help raise money for children's charities. The dress has since been displayed in museum exhibitions, including Diana: A Fashion Legacy at the Museum of Style in Newbridge, County Kildare, where it was described as the exhibition's most important item. The gown reportedly took two dressmakers more than 60 hours to complete.
