We at Talent Management knew that Kate Middleton’s fashion choices would be watched like a hawk once she and Prince William announced their engagement, but never did we expect this…

The now-famous sheer dress credited for winning the heart of Prince William was sold for an incredible £78,000 this week.

The Charlotte Todd design was valued at around £10,000 by auctioneer Kerry Taylor, who described it as the slip that “caught a prince’s eye and then his heart”.

Todd told the Daily Mail: “The dress is a part of fashion history – the moment William could first have fallen in love with Kate – and that makes me really proud.

“If it hadn’t been see-through, William might not have noticed her. I definitely think it has a played a part in the royal love story. She looked fabulous and I think she could become a style icon like Princess Diana.”

The black and gold straight-cut dress, with turquoise trim and embellishment, was designed and made by Todd during her fashion and textiles course at the University of the West of England.

It was then later borrowed by William and Kate’s University, St Andrew’s, for a charity fashion show, where the Prince was famously caught mesmerised by Middleton modelling down the catwalk.