The end of 2019 brought some monumental changes. One iconic move came when Historic Royal Palaces bought Princess Diana’s blue dress. This long, slim, velvet number was famous both for its stunning look and for its appearance when Princess Diana danced with John Travolta. Now, that dress is undergoing another step in its remarkable journey.
Many people are now familiar with the sight of her dancing with actor and singer John Travolta at the White House. Princess Diana and that famous dress, visually, go almost hand-in-hand. The dress went up for auction last year and that is how Historic Royal Palaces now has it. To immortalize it even further, the organization is freezing the dress.
Princess Diana’s blue dress is frozen
Right now the Isolation Room has a very famous resident: Princess Diana’s ‘Travolta dress’ (worn at the White House in 1985). A recent acquisition, the dress was frozen upon arrival, and will stay here a while longer before joining the rest of the collection ❄️ pic.twitter.com/0o4jCjepoj
— Historic Royal Palaces (@HRP_palaces) March 28, 2020
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that manages about half a dozen of the UK’s famous palaces. Its work also covers preserving items of significant cultural and historical value. So, that made Princess Diana’s blue dress an item of particular interest. At the end of 2019, the organization got the dress from an auction. Now, as citizens everywhere bunker down to stay safe against a virus, this dress is being shielded from harmful pests that could destroy it.
RELATED: Kitty Spencer Resembles Her Aunt Princess Diana In Powerful Ways
The announcement came via Twitter on March 28. Historic Royal Palaces froze the dress immediately. Actually, this ended up being a wise choice for many reasons. First, a stunning and relevant dress like this needs protection from the elements and pests. Additionally, the world fell on unprecedented times with the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, staff and items need quarantining. There’s no point in leaving the outfit exposed when no one can maintain and admire it.
That evening witnessed a lot of historical factors coming together
Princess Diana wore that stunning blue dress to a White House dinner hosted by President Reagan. She and the Prince of Wales attended a party that involved the likes of John Travolta, with whom she danced. The subsequent images that came from that night are still famous and capture people’s sense of awe.
Historic Royal Palaces plan on putting the dress back up for display in the future. For now, the organization is thrilled to have and take care of such an important piece. One member, Eleri Lynn, told the Daily Telegraph, “We’re delighted to have acquired this iconic evening gown for the royal ceremonial dress collection – a designated collection of national and international importance – over 20 years since it first left Kensington Palace.”