In the years since her tragic and untimely death in 1997, there’s been reams of paper written regarding how Princess Diana may have felt about her place in the English royal family, both during her marriage to now-King Charles and after the couple’s divorce.
That drama has continued to play out in recent years through her sons William and Harry.
But even in life, Diana seemed to hint at having a sort of outsider status inside Buckingham Palace, and one particular sartorial choice seemed to be lending credence to those rumors.
This week, that garment – a red sweater adorned with a flock of white sheep and one prominently placed black sheep – topped the million-dollar mark at auction.
Sold at Sotheby’s in New York, the sweater became the most valuable sweater ever sold at auction and the most expensive former piece of Diana’s wardrobe as well, selling for $1.143 million.
The price rose dramatically from its initial estimate range of $50,000 to $80,000, climbing to its final sale price from $190,000 during a 15-minute bidding war.
Warm and Wonderful co-founder Sally Muir was asked by People magazine what Diana would have thought about her sweater fetching such a high amount, and she speculated that Diana would have been “quite amused by it.”
“It’s just the power of Diana,” she said. “It goes on and on.”