Car Diana emerged from in 'revenge dress' sells for £66k

The car that took Princess Diana to a party in her "revenge dress" following public revelations about her relationship with then‑Prince Charles has sold at auction.

In June 1994, the princess stepped out of her Jaguar XJ40 wearing the iconic outfit just hours after Charles admitted to an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles during a televised interview.

More than three decades on, the vintage Jaguar sold for £66,250 at an auction hosted by The Market in south Oxfordshire.

The auctioneers said the car had been sold on Monday to a UK-based collector for 16 times its base value, which it said was a new record for a Jaguar XJ.

The vehicle had provided the backdrop to Diana as she emerged wearing a custom-made, off-the-shoulder black silk and chiffon cocktail dress with pleated detailing.

The outfit was later dubbed the "revenge dress" by the media.

Ahead of the auction, The Market's 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.

He said the history of the car "definitely makes it special".

"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."

The Jaguar was not the first celebrity vehicle sold by The Market - with George Michael's Range Rover and Elvis Presley's Cadillac also sold by the auction house in the past.