ATHLUXURY

Princess Diana’s Go-To Gym Top Sells for More Than $53,000

That’s more than 10 times the auction’s original listing price.


Britain's Princess of Wales departs her London hea
Johnny Eggitt/AFP/Getty Images

In a true testament to the late Princess Diana’s undying cult following, a cotton-polyester sweatshirt that was her top of choice for trolling the tabloids sold for $53,532 on Thursday night. An anonymous buyer, based in California, made the purchase 11 days after what would have been Diana’s 58th birthday—and paid more than 10 times the Boston-based RR Auction’s original listing price of $5,000.

The shirt’s seller, Jenni Rivett, will no doubt welcome the news. In honor of Diana’s devotion to charitable causes in Africa, Rivett, who was Diana’s longtime personal trainer, plans to use the proceeds to financially support a family in Malawi. (Though it’s possible she’ll add a few beneficiaries to that list, given the uptick in price.)

Princess Diana wearing a Virgin Atlantic sweatshirt as she leaves the Chelsea Harbour Club in London, November 1995.

Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images

If you’re finding it hard to believe that a Diana devotee would fork over such a hefty sum for a piece of polyester, well, the top holds a bit more significance than that. According to Rivett, it made up one half of Diana’s go-to ensemble for her visits to the Chelsea Harbour Club gym in London. (The other half is the pair of orange bike shorts pictured above.) “She felt there were far more important issues to focus on in the world than her gym attire and therefore decided that wearing the famous Virgin sweatshirt to every session would be a good way to stop the media frenzy,” Rivett explains in a letter that accompanies the top, which Diana gave her in 1997, several months before her untimely death.

Of course, despite her best intentions, the sweatshirt ended up becoming a symbol of Diana’s reticence towards the press. As for why Diana chose a look that essentially turned her into a walking advertisement for Virgin Atlantic, that might have something to do with the fact that it was a gift from the airline’s founder, Richard Branson, who also happened to be her friend. In the late ’80s, the royal frequently joined Branson on vacations to his private Caribbean retreat, Necker Island—the same place where Barack and Michelle Obama were spotted yachting and kitesurfing with Branson.

Related: Rihanna Takes Inspiration From Princess Diana When She Wants to Send Her Exes a Message

Revisit Princess Diana’s Best Style Moments on What Would Have Been Her 58th Birthday

Princess Diana outside her flat in Coleherne Court, London, December 1980. Photo by Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images.

Princess Diana Archive

Princess Diana in a dress by Cojana with Prince Charles in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on the day they announced their engagement, February 1981. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana with Prince Charles at Craigowan Lodge on the Balmoral Estate, May 1981. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana at a polo match in Windsor after the Ascot races, June 1981. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

A pregnant Princess Diana during a trip to the Isles of Scilly, April 1982. Photo by Kypros/Getty Images.

Kypros

Princess Diana wearing the colors of Canada during a state visit to Edmonton, Alberta, June 1983. Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images.

Bettmann

Princess Diana in a Smith’s Lawn sweater with Prince Charles at a polo meeting at Windsor, June 1983. Photo by Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images.

Princess Diana Archive

Princess Diana at the Melbourne airport, October 1985. Photo by Jayne Fincher/Getty Images.

Princess Diana Archive

Princess Diana on holiday in the south of France, 1985. Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage.

Anwar Hussein

Princess Diana in a Bruce Oldfield dress during a visit to Venice, May 1985. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana outside Highgrove with her son Harry, July 1986. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana on holiday in Majorca, Spain, August 1987. Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images.

Georges De Keerle

Princess Diana at a Berlin Opera House gala performance in a gown by Catherine Walker, November 1987. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana and Prince Charles at the Munich Opera House, November 1987. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana at a state reception in Melbourne, October 1988. Photo by Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images.

Princess Diana Archive

Princess Diana in a Catherine Walker gown at a dinner at the British Embassy in Paris during her official visit to France, November 1988. Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images.

Georges De Keerle

Princess Diana in a Catherine Walker suit and a Philip Somerville hat in Kuwait City, United Arab Emirates during her official tour of the Gulf States, March 1989. Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images.

Georges De Keerle

Princess Diana at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, March 1989. Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images.

Georges De Keerle

Princess Diana in a dress by Catherine Walker at the London Coliseum for a performance of Swan Lake by the Bolshoi Ballet, July 1989. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana at Claridges for a state banquet, July 1989. Photo by Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images.

Julian Parker

Princess Diana with her sons William and Harry at Wetherby School on Harry’s first day, September 1989. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana in Budapest during her official visit to Hungary, May 1990. Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images.

Georges De Keerle

Princess Diana and her son Harry at Windsor Chapel for the wedding of Lady Helen Windsor and art dealer Tim Taylor, July 1992. Photo by Jayne Fincher/Getty Images.

Princess Diana Archive

Princess Diana in a gown by Christina Stambolian at the Serpentine Gallery in London, June 1994. Photo by Jayne Fincher/Getty Images.

Princess Diana Archive

Princess Diana with her sons William and Harry on the day Harry joined Eton, September 1995. Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage.

Anwar Hussein

Princess Diana in a Virgin Atlantic sweatshirt at the Chelsea Harbour Club in London, November 1995. Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage.

Anwar Hussein

Princess Diana at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute dinner dance in Sydney, October 1996. Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images.

Tim Graham

Princess Diana at the Chelsea Harbour Health Club in London, May 1997. Photo by Antony Jones/UK Press via Getty Images.

Antony Jones

Princess Diana in a Jacques Azagury dress at the English National Ballet performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in London, June 1997. Photo by Anwar Hussein/Getty Images.

Anwar Hussein
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