Pink Blouse from Princess Diana’s 1981 Engagement Portrait Is Expected to Net Up to $100,000 at Auction
The same designers that created this blouse were also behind her iconic wedding dress later that year.


After the release of part one of the sixth and final season of Netflix’s The Crown (which focuses heavily on Princess Diana), it seems as though Diana fever is alive and well—and some are keen to strike while the iron is hot.
People reports that the blouse that the former Princess of Wales wore for her engagement portrait to then-Prince Charles is expected to net around $100,000 at auction. (Yes. $100,000. For a blouse.) The pink blouse was actually designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel—who also designed Diana’s iconic wedding dress when she married Charles on July 29, 1981.
The blouse will be available to purchase as part of Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies’ Hollywood Legends auction, where Julien’s reports it is expected to bring in somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000.
The engagement portrait was taken by Lord Snowden, and the blouse is described as a “pink crepe blouse with ruff-like collar and loose pleats.” According to Julien’s, Diana picked the blouse from a rack of clothing presented to her by former Vogue fashion editor Anna Harvey. The portrait appeared in the February 1981 issue of the same publication—when Diana was just 19 years old.
“When she saw our blouse on the rack, she fell in love with it, asked who had made it, and was directed to us,” Elizabeth Emanuel wrote in her book A Dress for Diana, adding that the blouse came to be after a client left a mascara stain on a custom-made gown, prompting the Emanuels to use the materials for the blouse, which appeared on display at Diana’s former home, Kensington Palace, from 2017 to 2019.
The auction will take place from December 14 to December 17 in Beverly Hills and online. In addition to the engagement portrait blouse, an evening gown worn by Diana in Florence, Italy in 1985 designed by Jacques Azagury will also be for sale and is expected to net between $100,000 and $200,000. Pieces worn by Audrey Hepburn and Barbra Streisand will also be among the items up for auction.
Stay In The Know
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Why King Charles Likes "Block Heels"
"It gets a bit harder to walk in heels as you get older."
-
Princess Charlotte's Secret Tribute to Beloved Relative
The precious brooch was a special gift from an important person in Charlotte's life.
-
King Charles Views Kate as a "Huge Asset"
"It bodes well for the future."
-
Body Language Expert Reveals Kate Middleton Can't "Mask Her Emotions" at Trooping the Colour 2025
"We also saw William...mirroring the same emotions as Kate."
-
Kate Middleton's Trooping the Colour Outfit Features a Special Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
Catherine made sure the late monarch's presence was felt at the prestigious event.
-
Kate Middleton Channels Princess Diana in a Catherine Walker Coat Dress at Trooping the Colour 2025
The Princess of Wales even wore the same designer as her late mother-in-law.
-
Princess Diana's "Favorite" Royal Photographer Says There's One Photo He "Regrets" Taking of Her
"They didn't see me as I was hiding in the bushes."
-
Why Princess Diana Once "Canceled Lunch" at Kensington Palace to Take Prince William and Prince Harry to McDonald's
A former royal chef revealed the relatable reason Diana took her kids to the popular fast food chain.
-
Why Princess Diana Felt "Let Down Terribly" on Her Wedding Day When Her Mother "Kept Crying"
"She kept...saying that she couldn't cope with the pressure."
-
I Dressed Like Princess Diana For a Week—and Something Unexpected Happened
Call it the Diana Effect.
-
Princess Diana "Wound Down Her Window" and Gave a Bride Some Brutal Advice After Her Divorce From Prince Charles
Someone track this couple down ASAP.