The saucy see-through dress which made Prince William fall for Kate Middleton is expected to fetch more than £10,000 at auction tomorrow.
Kate stole William’s heart as she strutted down the catwalk in the shimmering garment at a charity fashion show at St Andrews University nearly a decade ago.
The silky dress was designed by fashion student Charlotte Todd, 31, who initially said she would never part with her creation for cash.
But with a Royal wedding just over a month away, the dress that sparked a modern day fairytale is to go under the hammer at top London auction house La Galleria.
Fashion specialist Kerry Taylor Auctions has given an estimate of £8,000 to £10,000 – but expects recent interest in the wedding to push up the prize.
Spokeswoman But Kate Osborn said: ”We have had a lot of interest in the dress.
”There has been a fair amount of foreign interest as well as people from the UK.
”We have never auctioned off anything of Kate Middleton’s before so it may well exceed the asking price.
”The dress is a real investment for the future as it will rise in price over the coming years.
”This could be the tip of the iceberg as far as her clothes are concerned.”
An emotional Charlotte was down at the auction house today preparing to say goodbye to the dress that captivated Britain’s future king.
She revealed that she was hoping to plunder money from the sale into her fashion career, which had ended after her textiles degree almost a decade ago.
Charlotte said: ”It’s all a bit mad at the moment. I’m at the auction house and have been looking around at all the gowns here – it’s so surreal.
”I am tremendously excited but it is a little bit sad to say goodbye.
”I hope to put the money towards changing my career. This has made me realise that I want to continue my work with textiles.”
The rookie designer, from Bedminster, Bristol, revealed the dress cost just £30 to put together back for the fashion show on March 27, 2002.
Charlotte, now a retail manager at Bristol Aquarium, spent a week knitting the silk fabrics together before adding a ribbon trim to finish off the eye-catching black and gold piece.
The elegant slip dress – based on a brief called the ”art of seduction” – was then added to the collection for her fashion and textiles degree at the University of the West of England.
It was not until 2002 that Charlotte was contacted out of the blue by St Andrews University, to use her item in its annual charity fashion show.
The exclusive ticket-only event saw a host of sexy models take to the catwalk to strut their stuff wearing some of the biggest labels in fashion, including Giorgio Armani and Prada.
But Charlotte’s striking outfit caught the eye of the organisers, who cherry-pick clothes from the most talented up-and-coming student designers.
Smitten Wills reportedly paid £200 for a VIP front row seat and was captivated when Kate hit the catwalk wearing just a bra and knickers under the see-through dress.
The suited Prince was snapped craning his neck towards the leggy brunette, while guzzling wine with fellow guests on his table.
The resulting photographs of Kate and William at the fashion show were splashed across the world.
Experts have claimed the dress could be purchased by Royal fanatics for as much as £100,000 in years to come, if Kate becomes queen.