An iconic red sweater worn by Princess Diana shortly after her engagement to then-Prince Charles has sold at auction for an impressive $1.1 million. The sweater, known as the ‘Black Sheep’ sweater, featured rows of white wooly creatures with one black sheep in the pattern. Diana sported the playful garment during a June 1981 polo match. Little did anyone know at the time that this sweater would become one of the most emblematic pieces of clothing worn by Diana, foreshadowing her troubled journey as a member of the British royal family. The ‘Black Sheep’ sweater, which includes fees and commission, fetched a price over ten times higher than Sotheby’s initial estimate of $50,000 to $80,000.
According to Sotheby’s, this sale marks the highest price ever paid at auction for a garment belonging to Princess Diana, surpassing the sale of her Infanta-style ball gown earlier this year for $604,800. It also claims the title of the most valuable sweater ever sold at auction. The auction attracted a fierce bidding war among internet bidders, leading to a spike in the final minutes of the sale. Bidding went from $190,000 to the final price of $1.1 million within the last 15 minutes of the auction.
The ‘Black Sheep’ sweater was created by designers Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, then little-known, of the knitting company Warm and Wonderful. After Diana was photographed in the sweater, the designers received a letter requesting repair for one of the sleeves. A new sweater was sent to Diana, and the designers assumed the damaged one had been repaired and returned. However, in March 2023, Osborne found the original sweater in a small box in her attic.
The auction not only included the iconic sweater but also the letter requesting repair and a thank-you note from Diana’s private secretary, Oliver Everett. Diana was seen wearing the replacement sweater at a June 1983 polo match. The ‘Black Sheep’ sweater gained renewed popularity when it was re-released for sale in 2020 as part of a collaboration between the fashion brand Rowing Blazers and the original designers, Muir and Osborne. Its fame even extended to the Netflix series ‘The Crown,’ which featured a replica of the sweater in its fourth season, depicting the recent history of the House of Windsor.
For more information, read the full article [here](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/princess-dianas-black-sheep-sweater-sells-at-auction-for-1-1-million/articleshow/103689353.cms).
