Starting from April 24, Russian media outlets (News.ru, tsargrad.tv, youtvnews.com, lvov-news.ru) and Russian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2, 3, 4) circulated claims that Princess Diana’s “Revenge Dress” was sold by Meghan Markle to Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska. According to these claims, the dress was sold for $2.9 million. The articles cite the Nigerian outlet The Nation as the source of this information. Some accounts (1, 2, 3 ) also shared a video about the topic featuring the logo of the British tabloid The Sun.
Princess Diana’s “Revenge Dress” is housed at the Museum of Style Icons in Ireland and has never belonged to Meghan Markle. Furthermore, the video released under The Sun’s name is fabricated.
Princess Diana wore the “Revenge Dress” on June 29, 1994, at a charity event at London’s Serpentine Gallery. On the same day, a documentary aired on television in which Prince Charles admitted to adultery and cheating on his wife. In 1997, the dress was bought by a Scottish couple, Brid and Grahame Mackenzie. They stated they intended to use the dress to raise additional funds for charitable organizations, as was Diana’s wish. Today, the dress is kept at the Museum of Style Icons in Ireland. The museum’s Instagram page confirms that Princess Diana’s dress is part of its collection.
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The Video Circulated in The Sun’s Name Is Fake
Some accounts shared a video with The Sun’s logo, but no such video can be found on The Sun’s website or its social media pages (Facebook, X, Instagram). The fact-checking organization Lead Stories investigated the claim. A representative from The Sun confirmed that the video is fake.
Notably, the segment released under The Sun’s name features commentary from royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams, allegedly about the sale of the dress. In reality, the comment was taken from a 2022 interview he gave to GB News, where he was discussing Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series. Myth Detector has also reached out to the royal family for comment. The article will be updated if a response is received.
About The Nation
The Nation is a Nigerian outlet that has previously spread disinformation related to Olena Zelenska. This outlet was the original source of a false claim that Olena Zelenska had purchased jewelry worth $1,100,000 at Cartier. In addition, The Nation is mentioned in a BBC investigation on fake news in Africa as one of the disinformation spreaders.
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