Diana fans awaiting dress auction

The dress is a replica of Elizabeth Emmanuel's famous design

An exact copy of Princess Diana's 1981 wedding dress has been attracting interest from around the world - a week before it is due to be auctioned.

The replica of the ivory silk dress was made by designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, apparently at the request of the princess in case of a mishap.

It will be auctioned on 7 December in Camden, north London, after more than 20 years at Madame Tussauds.

Auction house boss John Collins said: "It's a real collector's item".

"We have been getting a lot of interest from all over the world, simply because it was used as the spare dress."

The dress, with its 40-metre silk taffeta train, goes on display at the Proud Gallery in Camden on Tuesday with a reserve price of £50,000.

Mr Collins said: "It's very hard to say, it could go for £1m, or it could go for £100,000. We recently sold John Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" lyrics - the estimate was £200,000 and it went for £700,000, so you can never tell."