- "The Crown" recreates Kate Middleton's infamous university fashion show in season six, episode nine.
- In the episode, actor Meg Bellamy wears a recreation of the royal's see-through dress.
- The original dress was sold in 2011 for just over $125,000, according to CNN.
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"The Crown" season six recreates a key moment in Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship.
In 2002, Kate — now known as Catherine, Princess of Wales — famously participated in a student charity fashion show at the University of St Andrews in Edinburgh, Scotland. She walked the runway in front of the prince in a sheer black dress, wearing a black bandeau top underneath.
The moment is recreated in episode nine of the final season of "The Crown," which depicts Kate, played by Meg Bellamy, deliberately wearing the see-through dress to impress Prince William (played by Ed McVey).
Here is what the dress looks like in "The Crown" versus real life, what happened to the real dress.
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'The Crown' implies that Kate wore the see-through dress specifically for Prince William
Before the fashion show in episode nine, Kate calls her mother, Carole Middleton (played by Eve Best), to tell her that Prince William is attending the event. Carole encourages her daughter to look her best, specifically telling Kate to "make use of the assets God has given us."
Next, Kate is seen backstage at the fashion show and spies the prince in the crowd before picking out the sheer dress.
"The Crown" costume designer Amy Roberts told Netflix's Tudum publication that she believes that the real Kate picked the dress to impress William.
"That was deliberate," Roberts said. "She wore that to catch William's attention — that dress is not hiding anything."
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Bellamy, who plays Kate, told Tudum that she was initially nervous about recreating the famous runway moment, but she received a lot of support from the cast and crew.
"It was a really liberating experience, and it was so great for the self-esteem," she said.
The real dress was sold for over $125,000 in 2011
While we do not see her in the episode, the dress was designed by another St Andrew's student at the time, Charlotte Todd.
Todd, who studied fashion and textiles, told People in 2011 that the dress was made for a class project "called 'The Art of Seduction,' which is quite apt, really."
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Todd added: "I didn't know who Kate Middleton was and I didn't put her in it. It was just pure chance."
British Vogue reported that the dress cost £30 (around $38) to make, and was originally meant to be a skirt rather than a dress.
In 2011, the dress was sold as part of an auction for £78,000, which was just over $125,000 at the time, according to CNN.
CNN reported that the buyer was only identified as "Nick from Jersey." Jersey is an island between England and France.
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Todd told People: "Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history. It's madness."
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