NEW YORK, June 27. /TASS/. A silk dress with a floral pattern belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997), sold on Thursday at an auction for $520,000, American auction house Julien's Auctions said.

"The dress was dubbed the ‘Caring Dress,’ as explained by David Sassoon, because Diana often wore it when visiting hospitals and sitting with patients," it said. The starting price of the lot was $50,000.

In total, more than 300 items related to Diana and other members of the British royal family were put up for auction. Among them is a Dior bag given to the princess by the former first lady of France Bernadette Chirac (sold for $325,000 with a starting price of $5,000), a peach-colored hat that Diana wore during her honeymoon (went under the hammer for $26,000 with a starting price of $5,000), her dresses, shoes clutches, postcards and photographs signed by her.

According to the organizers of the auction, the collection put up for sale was supposed to allow bidders to see the innermost side of royal life, to understand who these people were and what they treasured. These outfits and things reveal the human stories behind the crown. The style of Princess Diana remains relevant not only because it is beautiful, but also because it has a lot of empathy, it is a reflection of a woman who became and remains a "people's princess," the auction house is convinced.