PrincessDiana

A Fight Over Princess Diana's Dresses

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Controversy and drama continue to surround Princess Diana, even so many years after her death, as a fight has broken out over ownership of a collection of her beautiful and historical dresses.

Maureen Rorech Dunkel bought 13 of Princess Diana's dresses for $700,000 just a few weeks before her unexpected death back in 1997, and now the fate of 5 of those dresses is in dispute. It's all very tangled and twisted but apparently Dunkel had some financial difficulties and took out a series of loans -- to the tune of $1.5 million -- from HRH Ventures LLC and used the dress collection as security. Dunkel has since defaulted on payment and recently filed for bankruptcy, but Patricia C. Sullivan (manager for HRH Ventures) is seeking ownership of 5 of the 13 dresses claiming Dunkel doesn't have the resources to properly care for and maintain such irreplaceable valuables. Among the 5 is a blue velvet dress valued at over $1 million that the Princess wore to a White House dinner and was photographed in dancing with John Travolta. Dunkel, who is also known for founding The People's Princess Charitable Foundation, is claiming the loans aren't supposed to mature until 2012.

As of right now all the dresses are on loan to Kensington Palace in London.

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Tags: princess diana, princess diana dresses, PrincessDiana, PrincessDianaDresses

Al Fayed Receives Modest Payout In Princess Diana Case

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

There's an intriguing update in the Princess Diana story. The AFP reports that a French court has ordered the authorities to pay Mohamed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods department store and the father of Dodi Fayed, 5,000 euros over an inquiry into the car crash that killed Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul in Paris. Since the accident in 1997, Mohamed Al Fayed has claimed that the accident, which was caused when Paul attempted to elude paparazzi photographers, was part of a murderous plot.

In 2007, Al Fayed brought a case against the French state after a judge dismissed a challenge to the original inquest ruling which stated that the crash had been caused by the fact that Henri Paul was driving drunk. Al Fayed claim that the case had been slowed down by mistakes made by the judge in charge. This week the court ruled that court authorities were responsible for the problems had delayed that case several years and so Al Fayed is owed 5,000 euros compensation plus 3,000 euros in legal fees. It's a drop in the bucket for the billionaire department store owner but Al Fayed has said that he is delighted because the verdict shows that there has been a cover-up.

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Tags: dodi fayed, DodiFayed, henri paul, HenriPaul, mohamed al-fayed, MohamedAl-fayed, princess diana, PrincessDiana

Princess Diana's Dress to be Auctioned on E-Bay

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Auctions, Charity

A few months before Princess Diana's tragic death in a car crash in Paris, 80 gowns from her personal collection went up for auction at Christie's. Three of those gowns were purchased by the cable television network WE TV and have been preserved ever since, waiting for the right moment to bring them out as a celebration of her memory and style. Two will be touring the country this fall, the other will be auctioned for charity.

Beginning August 12, this beautiful chiffon evening gown designed by Catherine Walker will go up for auction on E-Bay. Valued at more than $300,000, the Princess wore the gown to the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 and again to the opening of Miss Saigon in 1989. All proceeds from the sale will go to America's Promise Alliance to support a cause close to Diana's heart - helping underprivileged children. America's Promise Alliance is a non-profit organization founded by General Colin Powell to to ensure that all children have the fundamental resources needed to lead successful happy lives.

The auction runs through August 22 and the starting bid is $125,000.

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Tags: america's promise, America'sPromise, auction, canne, cannes film festival, CannesFilmFestival, catherine walker, CatherineWalker, charity, colin powell, ColinPowell, diana, dress, ebay, evening gown, EveningGown, miss saigon, MissSaigon, princess diana, princess of wales, PrincessDiana, PrincessOfWales, we, we tv, WeTv

Princess Diana's Dresses Unite For A Good Cause

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Events

The latest event to honor the ten year anniversary of Princess Diana's death is an exhibit of 25 designer gowns that Diana had auctioned off at Christie's a few weeks before her death. The "Diana, Princess of Wales: Dresses for a Cause" exhibit will take place at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida from October 14, 2007 through December 31, 2007. The dress owners will be coming from all over the world to deliver their dresses and the "dress reunion" is expected to be the largest collection of Diana's auctioned dresses ever assembled since the original auction in June 1997. Special events such as appearances by Chef Darren McGrady, Diana's personal chef; Jayne Fincher, Royal Photographer; and Nigel Arch, Director of Kensington Palace are also planned. Tickets to the exhibit are $12 for adults and will raise money for breast cancer education, prevention and research initiatives in Central Florida.

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