THE Princess of Wales - queen of lame, lycra, silk and sequins - plans to sell some of her vast wardrobe to help charity and refashion her image. Uncharitable designers say Diana just wants fresh cupboard space.
A spokeswoman for the princess confirmed yesterday that Diana had held talks with Christie's auction house about a charity dress sale later this year that the press is gleefully dubbing the "jumble sale of the century".
Christie's confirmed talks were under way for a sale that could raise £1 million for some of the causes Princess Diana champions, such as AIDS and cancer research. Some of the dresses when new would have had price tags over £10,000. Although "second hand", the element of touching something that touched the famous would make up for depreciation.
While not quite a case of the empress having no clothes, Princess Diana's plans to sell off a small corner of her fabled collection is an unprecedented move by a British royal.
The Daily Telegraph said yesterday that the princess planned to auction 65 gowns, many by the top designers of the 1980s.
The paper said the former wife of heir to the throne Prince Charles wants to shed her image as high class clothes horse and pursue a new role outside the conventional royal mould".
"The princess is keen to put the years as a fashion icon behind her and hopes that such a move will increase public attention to her work," said the paper.
Diana's spokeswoman, however, played down talk that the princess planned to donate her wedding dress - an ivory froth of flounces and bows - to London's Victoria and Albert Museum, which has an extensive collection of fashion through the ages.
"No discussions have taken place with the Victoria and Albert," she said of the celebrated wedding gown that changed a frumpy girl into the focus of glamour seekers around the world.
Signs have emerged recently that Diana wants to be seen as a woman of substance, not just style, as witnessed in her recent trip to Angola.
"I think she basically needs a bit of wardrobe space," designer Bruce Oldfield told BBC radio. "She has thousands of clothes. We all need a clear out every now and again."