Kate Middleton's see-through dress promises to be auction hit

Mar 17, 2011, 12:49 GMT

London - The transparent dress which is said to have helped Kate Middleton catch her prince was set to be sold at auction amid worldwide interest Thursday.

The see-through knitted lace dress was originally estimated to fetch between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds (13,000 and 16,000 dollars), said a spokeswoman for Kerry Taylor auctions in London.

Middleton wore the dress - its effect highlighted by scant black underwear - during a charity fashion show, when she and Prince William were students at St Andrews university in Scotland, in 2002.

William, a spectator but not yet her boyfriend, was clearly struck by what he saw and the two became an item later that year. They are to get married at Westminster Abbey on April 29.

'I am quite astonished by the amount of interest from all over the world, from Korea to Japan to America,' said Taylor ahead of the auction.

'Literally there's global interest in the dress and that reflects the interest in Kate Middleton.'

Meanwhile, former fellow student Charlotte Todd, who created the sexy garment, said she was relieved that the dress, which cost her 30 pounds to make, would soon be owned by someone else.

'The responsibility of keeping the dress was huge and I'd rather be rid of it,' said 31-year-old Todd, who now works as a retail manager.

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