Two months before her death, Princess Diana returned to New York for what would be her last visit. It was during this final trip, in June of 1997, that she attended a preview and reception ahead of the Christie's charity auction of her dresses, a sale inspired by one of her sons.
It was Prince William's idea that his mother do something charitable with her clothing. In the 2017 documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, the heir to the throne shared: "My mother loved her fashion, she loved her clothes, but she wasn't a slave to it. I remember walking around her cupboards and there were just so many dresses and so many clothes. And she got so fed up with all the clothes in the cupboards, believe it or not. And I said, 'Why don't you give the clothes away? Why don't you give do something charitable with it?'"
And Diana did just that, across the pond in New York City.
While the Princess "absolutely could have done" the auction in London, Martin Nolan from Julien's Auctions, who has worked with many of Diana's close friends and designers, pointed out that the royal chose the Big Apple because "she loved New York."
"When you think about when Diana, at the behest of her young son William, when he recommended - he said to his mummy, 'Why don't you sell some of your frocks for charity?' She chose to do that auction in New York," Martin told HELLO!. "And that speaks to the fact that she was so loved, so appreciated, so adored, not judged, not expected to behave like a royal should behave like back home, and I think that was the part that was really appealing to her."
Martin suggested that Diana, whose divorce from Charles had been finalized the previous summer, knew she was not judged in New York.
"There's the difference, because at that time there was a divorce within the royal family, which was unheard of, and there were people that blamed Diana back home, and they had expectations for her and how she should behave and what she should wear and how she should dress and where the hemline was on her knee, above or below, and where her neckline was," Martin said.
"New Yorkers didn't care about that. New Yorkers wanted glamour, and if you've got it flaunt it, and I think that's what she loved about New York, and she also felt that in New York, to do this auction, people are extremely generous, and they would want to own something from her life and career and support her and support her charities."
© Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty ImagesOver 1,000 people attended the Christie's auction, where 79 of Diana's dresses sold, raising $3.2 million for cancer and AIDS charities.
From videos, Martin observed that the Princess enjoyed the process, describing it as "liberating and cathartic as well because she was letting go of when she was HRH. And now she was free. She was liberated. She wasn't married anymore."
He also noted that the 1997 auction sort of "tells so much about [Diana's] love affair with New York, her love affair with New Yorkers, but New Yorkers' love affair with Diana, unjudged, totally supported, respected and loved. And like any human being, you're gonna go where you're loved."
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HELLO! took a page out of Diana's book and traveled to New York this summer for our first live event. The special recording of A Right Royal Podcast explored the British royals' love affair with the city, including Diana's secret meeting with John F. Kennedy Jr.
If you'd like to watch the full podcast episode from New York, keep scrolling. The podcast is also available to watch in your VIP Members' Area.
