The People's Princess Charitable Foundation, Inc. was incorporated as a non profit 501©3 organization in the state of Florida on September 11, 1997 by Maureen Rorech Dunkel a business woman located in Tampa, Florida. As part of a long-term personal investment plan, Ms. Rorech Dunkel had anonymously purchased 14 gowns of the late Princess Diana at auction just weeks before the Princess' untimely death.

Influenced both by the outpouring of public grief following the Princess' tragic death and the Princess' dedication to global humanitarian activities, Ms. Rorech Dunkel made the decision to share the dresses with the public for their sentimental enjoyment and appreciation of their historical importance. Ms. Rorech Dunkel benefited from the offered guidance of the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution and created a professionally curated 5,600 square foot exhibition of the dresses and accompanying text explaining Princess Diana's journey from royal princess to leading humanitarian who traveled the world to bring attention to the causes she supported.

This "Dresses For Humanity, an Exhibition of the Dresses of the Princess of Wales" exhibit traveled the world from October, 1997 – June, 2001. Distributable proceeds in excess of $900,000 were given to charities in the U.S. and Canadian cities which were stops on the exhibition tour. An additional $200,000 was raised during an eight-month exhibition in Kensington Palace from November, 1999 – June, 2000.

At the end of the exhibition tour the dresses were "put to rest" in Kensington Palace the former home of Princess Diana for the enjoyment and education of the public, as well as for the proximity to her two sons. They are now part of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection and the dollars generated by ticket sales go for the preservation of Kensington Palace. They will remain on display until 2010 at which time they will return to the Foundation.