FM Princess of Loveliness
Doll number ten in Franklin Mint's porcelain portrait doll series was the Princess of Loveliness. She was nicknamed the "Burgundy Tailcoat" doll or the "Steel Magnolias" gown for the burgundy velvet tailcoat over column gown by Catherine Walker. The gown is a very formal and regal replica of a gown worn to the premiere of Steel Magnolias.
The gown is perfectly cut, tailored and fitted in 2 parts, a jacket and straight column gown. The jacket displays an intricate and accurate reproduction of the cream and golden thread embroidery roses picked out with pearls on the front lapels, cuffs and back tails of the men's morning style top coat jacket. If the jacket is removed, sadly the burgundy gown is not worthy of display, as the bodice is matching taffeta rather than velvet (probably to keep the bulk of the fabric down). Catherine Walker let it be known years later that the gown was originally designed in one of her collections in an off-white. Diana suggested the change to both pieces being burgundy
The jewelry is simply the ruby and pearl drop earrings Diana tended to wear with red-hued outfits, (displayed below from the vinyl collection; as with all the porcelains, the earrings on the Princess of Loveliness are firmly glued into the doll and aren't removable without a great deal of effort.) There is a matching burgundy evening clutch which is easy to put in the doll's grip for display. The clasp is decorated with a ring of seed pearls.
The burgundy porcelain shoes are just skimmed by the hem of the gown and once again don't look particularly like Diana's. The design of the embroidery is best observed from the back of the gown. Each rose is made up of tiny seed pearls and golden thread .
This gown was Lot 63 in the Christie's auction of Diana's dresses sold for charity in 1997 and raised over $26,000. She continues the design trend of having a poseable head and sapphire engagement ring. She has a lovely open mouth smile, and her eyes are a straight-on glance.
This is the only doll in the regular porcelain collection of 10 dolls where the edition number is known, as she was actively marketed as an LE 2,500, so this is one of the harder porcelains to find secondary market. As several of the gowns have been spotted for sale without the doll, it's likely there are fewer than 2,500 left intact. Some collectors prefer the vinyl doll and rob porcelain Dianas for their ensembles...usually because they haven't been able to find someone able to copy the gown for the vinyl doll. (The vinyl People's Princess is slightly smaller in stature, but the gowns are frequently swappable.)
She remains the best and most accurate mass-marketed porcelain doll wearing this gown, as do the other dolls in this FM collection.
