Car Diana emerged from in 'revenge dress' up for sale

A 1994 Jaguar XJ40 used by Princess Diana is scheduled for auction at The Market in south Oxfordshire. The car carried her to the Vanity Fair party in London on 29 June 1994, hours after Prince Charles publicly admitted an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Diana arrived in a custom black off-the-shoulder silk and chiffon cocktail dress later nicknamed the “revenge dress.” The Jaguar had recently joined her collection and was used for about three years until her death in 1997. The auction house says the vehicle was well maintained, first by the Royal Estate at Kensington and later by a private owner, and that its history adds significant value.

"On 29 June 1994, the princess arrived at the Vanity Fair party in London just hours after Charles admitted during a televised interview to an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. She stepped out of her Jaguar XJ40 wearing a custom-made, off-the-shoulder black silk and chiffon cocktail dress with pleated detailing - later dubbed the "revenge dress" by the media."

"The Market chief executive, Mark Livesey, said: "On one hand it's a 1994 Jaguar, and on the other hand it's actually an ex-royal car as used by the late Princess Diana." He explained that the car had been used by the princess for about three years, up until her death in 1997, and that it had "played a role in some of her most famous moments"."

""She was transported all around London and UK in it and famously popped out of it wearing the black revenge dress after Charles had made a confession to the media earlier that day," he said. The Jaguar XJ40 had been "well looked after", Livesey said, first by the Royal Estate at Kensington and then by a private owner."

""Whenever any of us actually meet or come close to a really famous person, you get a funny feeling," he said. "To have, or even own, something that belonged to them, it definitely adds an enormous value.""

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