Few outfits have secured a place in royal history quite like the black silk Christina Stambolian dress worn by Princess Diana on the night Prince Charles publicly acknowledged his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
Dubbed the “Revenge Dress” after Diana’s striking appearance eclipsed her husband’s television confession, the gown became one of the headline pieces at the eagerly awaited auction of her clothes at Christie’s in New York in June 1997.
Yet for almost three decades, the dress remained out of sight. It had been purchased for £44,511 by Scottish businessman Graeme Mackenzie and his wife, Briege, who owned the Body Shop franchise in Scotland.
Now set to return to the auction block at Sotheby’s next month, with an estimated value of £150,000 to £300,000, the dress has a hidden history. The couple’s son, Euan, says his father misled the BBC—and the public—by suggesting it was being stored in a bank vault.
“That was a decoy,” he said. “The dress was hidden in plain sight in our house the entire time. Everyone who visited walked straight past it without realising it was sitting there, just ten feet away.
“It was kept in my grandfather’s camphorwood chest. It was the perfect place to store it because camphorwood releases an aroma that repels moths, insects and other pests.”
Euan still clearly remembers discovering that his parents had bought the famous gown. He had recently left Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh and was working at the Showcase Cinema in Glasgow, where the family lived.
“The doorbell rang and it was surreal,” said Euan, 47, now a district councillor and real estate agent living in Hokitika, on New Zealand’s South Island. “It was like a scene from Notting Hill.
“I opened the door and there were cameras flashing and microphones everywhere. I was standing there in a terrible maroon cardigan and a clip-on tie with ‘Showcase Cinemas’ written on it.”
Princess Diana wearing the “Revenge Dress” in 1994. The Christina Stambolian gown was among the star attractions at the highly anticipated auction of Diana’s dresses at Christie’s in New York in June 1997
The Revenge Dress is being exhibited at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva during Sotheby’s Luxury Week before moving to Sotheby’s Paris Galleries from November 19 to 23
Until then, Euan had no idea his parents were considering a purchase. “When they heard the dresses were going to be auctioned, they applied for one of the leather-bound catalogues and received it as a keepsake,” he said.
“As they looked through it, they must have formed a plan and decided to try bidding. They visited the room where all the dresses were displayed and eventually spoke with Christina Stambolian.
“Then the doors closed, Princess Diana walked in and approached my parents to ask whether they were interested in any of the dresses. My dad said, ‘Yes, we’re interested in that one behind you, Ma’am,’ and pointed to the gown.
“She turned around and saw it was lot two—the little black dress. She told my dad, ‘Everybody loves that dress.’ That chance meeting with Diana persuaded my parents to pursue lot two in earnest. They booked flights to New York and attended the auction.”
After securing the dress, Euan’s parents took it around Scotland to raise money for charity. They wrote to Diana to tell her they had bought it, and she replied to congratulate them. Two months later, Diana died, and the family placed the gown inside the camphorwood chest.
The dress is being sold only now, following Graeme’s death last March from Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. His widow plans to donate part of the proceeds to NHS Lothian Charity, supporting the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, where he received care.
She will be staying with Euan in New Zealand when the dress is auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York on December 9. “It’s simply too painful to hold on to something they enjoyed together,” he said.
The Revenge Dress is currently on display at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva as part of Sotheby’s Luxury Week. It will then be exhibited at Sotheby’s Paris Galleries from November 19 to 23.
