Princess Diana’s ‘black sheep’ jumper could fetch US$80,000 at auction: her iconic garment, which she wore alongside King Charles in the 1980s, was just rediscovered in the manufacturers’ attic

Jul 30 , 2023

Princess Diana wearing her iconic black sheep jumper. Photo: @sothebys/Instagram

Princess Diana donned the Warm & Wonderful jumper multiple times before its sleeve got damaged, possibly snagging on her diamond and sapphire engagement ring

Emma Corrin wore a replica while playing Diana on The Crown season 4 – and the original will go under the hammer in Sotheby’s online Fashion Icons sale in September

A red jumper adorned with a flock of sheep worn by the young Princess Diana is expected to sell for more than US$50,000 at auction.

The playfully patterned wool jumper featuring a single black sheep amid a pattern of white ones headlines Sotheby’s online Fashion Icons sale in September.

The then 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer was photographed in the garment at a polo match in June 1981, soon after her engagement to Prince Charles, who was then heir to the British throne.

Diana, Princess of Wales, then Prince Charles and Sarah Ferguson attend a polo match at Smith’s Lawn, Guards Polo Club, Windsor. Photo: Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images

Diana was already becoming a style icon – and one of the world’s most photographed women – and the moment gave a big boost to designers Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, who made the jumper for their small knitwear label Warm & Wonderful.

A staff member poses with the “black sheep” jumper” designed by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne and worn on several occasions by Britain’s late Princess Diana during a press view at Sotheby’s auction house in London, on July 17. Photo: AFP

A few weeks later, Muir and Osborne received an official letter from Buckingham Palace explaining that Diana had damaged the jumper and asking whether it could be repaired or replaced. The original was returned, showing damage to a sleeve the designers thought might have been caused by snagging on Diana’s diamond and sapphire engagement ring.

A new jumper was knitted and dispatched, and Diana was photographed wearing it with white jeans and a black ribbon tie at an event in 1983.