• Canadian auction house expects the 14 dresses to fetch around $4million
  
• Tampa businesswoman racked up around $2.5m in debt trying to exhibit them around the world
  
• They include the iconic dress Princess Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta

When she bought 14 of Princess Diana's dresses at Christie's in June 1997, Maureen Rorech Dunkel had no idea that in just three months, they would become virtually priceless.

After Diana's death in a Paris car crash, the Florida businesswoman set up a charitable foundation which was supposed to display the 5 around the world and continue the princess's legacy.

But instead Ms Dunkel racked up at least $2.5million in debt through failed exhibitions, and tomorrow faces the embarrassment of auctioning off all 14 dresses to pay off her creditors.

It's a sad end for the historic dresses, which include the stunning midnight-blue Victor Edelstein gown the princess wore when she danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985, and two used in her iconic Vanity Fair photoshoots with Mario Testino.

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Sad end: Tampa businesswoman Maureen Dunkel poses with one of the dresses on display at Toronto's Design Exchange ahead of the auction tomorrow. The proceeds will help pay off Ms Dunkel's debts

Although they went on display across the world, including at Kensington Palace in London, they also wound up at less-than-glamorous locations including Downtown Disney and an old furniture shop in Hyde Park Village, Tampa.

Ms Dunkel Discover Jovani's collection of short dresses and flirty cocktail dresses. Whether you want a sweet short dress or a sophisticated cocktail dress, 50, hopes to make around $4million from tomorrow's auction in Toronto, which comes ahead of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's official visit to the country next week.

Auctioneers Waddington's say some of the proceeds will go to the National Ballet School of Canada, wedding dresses uk designer but much of it will be used to pay off Ms Dunkel's debts.

She filed for bankruptcy in 2010, after using the dresses as collateral to secure a $1.5million loan for a housing project which ended in failure.

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Iconic: Princess Diana wore this stunning midnight-blue Victor Edelstein 6 when she famously danced with John Travolta at a White House dance hosted by Ronald Reagan in 1985

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Glamour: The dresses up for auction include this Catherine Walker black halter-neck, left, worn by Diana at Versailles in 1994, and right, another Walker gown, worn by the princess during a 1991 visit to Brazil

Her attorney, Jeffrey Warren, told the St Petersburg Times: 'A lot of her money was spent on that real estate development that went sour. But she worked out a plan to pay all her creditors in full.

'After these dresses are sold, her creditors will be paid first. And the dresses are far more valuable than what she owes.'

She bought the gowns at Christie's in New York in June 1997, when Princess Diana auctioned off 79 of her dresses, raising $3.25million for her favourite charities.

At that time they cost Ms Dunkel $670,000. Tomorrow, many will go for that sum each, with the iconic Edelstein expected to fetch around $1million.

All but one of the dresses were made especially for Diana, and half were designed by Catherine Walker.

They include a black halterneck dress she wore at Versailles, which is expected to fetch up to $275,000, and an elegant 7 and coat in which she attended the 1990 première of Steel Magnolias.

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Enduring: One of the dresses up for sale is a grey crepe gown, covered in pearls, which Diana wore for this famous Mario Testino photo shoot for Vanity Fair in 1997

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red carpet frocks: The sale includes this crushed velvet gown, worn to the 1985 première of Back to the Future, left, and a black Bruce Oldfield 8, victorias secret victorias secret right, worn to the Les Misérables première the same year

There is also a Bruce Oldfield gown, in dramatic black velvet, which she wore to the première of Les Misérables in London in 1995 and is listed at $175,000-225 plus size bridesmaid dresses under 100 ,000.

Shortly after Diana's death in September 1997, Ms Dunkel announced her plan to take the dresses around the world, hoping to inspire young girls and make millions for charity in an exhibition entitled Dresses For Humanity.

She set up the People's Princess Charitable Foundation, lingerie wash bag lingerie wash bag which intended to 'perpetuate the charitable objectives supported by the late Diana, Princess of Wales', according to an IRS form at the time.

By 2001, the dresses had toured Canada, the UK and New Zealand, netting more than $1.5million for the foundation, which gave the money to Metropolitan Ministries and the Boys and Girls Club, the St Petersburg Times reports.

But the foundation was already running into trouble as expenses began to mount. In the first year alone, Ms Dunkel spent more than $1milion on legal fees, public relations consultancy and building the exhibits, and she had to loan it $1million of her own money just to keep it going.

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Up for auction: Princess Diana wore this Catherine Walker tartan dress at a ball in aid of the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital in 1991, left. She wore the red dress and coat, right, to the 1990 Steel Magnolias premiere

By 2001, the foundation was beginning to flounder, according to its tax filing for that year. It read: 'Insurance on the dresses during transportation was very high, and attendance and retail sales at each venue were well below projections.'

'The exhibit was shown at three venues, however none provided a profit.'

She loaned the exhibition to Kensington Palace for a short time in 2002, but her attempts to hold a glamorous charity fundraiser at Diana's former home failed miserably when sponsors failed to materialise.

The foundation lost $115, evening cocktail dresses uk evening cocktail dresses uk878 in preparing for the event, and had to refund $47,250 in ticket sales.

In a 2004 tax filing seen by the St Petersburg Times, the foundation borrowed $38,000 from the Bank of Tampa, and another $50,000 from Patricia Sullivan, whose former husband founded Outback Steakhouse.

Two years later she decided to turn to real estate development, and borrowed $1.5million from HRH Ventures - using the dresses as collateral - to fund a housing project.

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Sold! A Christie's auctioneer celebrates in 1997 when the iconic blue velvet dress Princess Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta is sold in New York

But that, too, failed to go ahead, and in 2009 HRH Ventures sued Ms Dunkel and the foundation, asking for five of the dresses.

By the time she filed for bankruptcy in January the following year, Ms Dunkel owed around $3.5million, including $1million to Sumter Homes, Bank of Florida, Holland & Knight summer wedding accessories summer wedding accessories, Bank of America and Northstar Bank.

With auctioneers estimating the 14 gowns could make as much as $4.15million, Ms Dunkel will at last be hoping the dresses can bring her financial help rather than woe.

In the auction catalogue, she wrote: 'It is time to close the "Diana Dress" chapter of my life and focus on my greatest love, my desire to use my time, talents and treasure to serve God.'

Diana's Dresses: The full auction list

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Designed by Victor Edelstein
Estimated price: $800,000 to $1million
Diana wore this midnight-blue dress the night she she danced with John Travolta in 1985

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimated price: $375,000 to 425,000
This lilac wild silk gown with bolero jacket was designed for Diana's State Tour of India in 1992

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $250,000 to $300,000
Cream silk crepe. Worn for Mario Testino Vanity Fair shoot

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $175,000 to $225,000
Grey silk crepe with pearls. Also worn for Vanity Fair shoot

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Designed by Zandra Rhodes
Estimate: $125,000 to $175,000
An Edwardian-style silk 6 with glass beads

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $150,000 to $200,000
Turquoise sequinned dress. Worn on 1993 visit to Vienna

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $150,000 to $200,000
Nautical-style navy silk. Often worn on Royal Yacht Britannia

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $150,000 to $200,000
Silk and velvet tartan. Worn to 1991 ball for the Royal Marsden

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate for wedding dresses : $225,000 to $275,000
Red velvet dress with tailcoat. Worn on 1992 state visit to Korea

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $150,000 to $200,000
Low back crushed red velvet. Worn to 1985 film première

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $200,000 to $250,000
One-sleeved gown ivory satin. Worn on visit to Brazil in 1991

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Designed by Catherine Walker
Estimate: $225,000 to $275,000
Halter-neck black silk. Worn at Versailles in 1994

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Designed by Bruce Oldfield
Estimate: $175,000 to $225,000
Dramatic black velvet. Worn to  wedding dresses ; Les Misérables première  in 1985

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Designed by Victor Edelstein
Estimate: $150,000 to $200,000
Green velvet. Worn at private Kensington Palace parties