Australian heiress Primrose Dunlop, famously left at the altar, dies aged 70
Australian socialite Primrose Dunlop, whose “prince” husband famously left her at the altar for his best man prior to their lavish wedding, has died, aged 70.
Dunlop, who was the daughter of Australian society icon Lady Potter, was heiress to a massive $60 million fortune.
Dunlop entered full-time care with frontotemporal dementia in 2022.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.She passed away on February 5.
In 1990, Primrose, who was affectionately called “Pitty Pat” by friends, attracted international headlines after her Venice wedding to flight attendant Lorenzo Montesini was called off.
The wedding failed to go ahead because Montesini had a partner of two decades, who he had met in Vietnam as a young 19-year-old.
Primrose’s mother, Lady Potter AC, made a $1 million donation in her daughter’s name to The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health on Sunday.
“My daughter, Primrose, has lost her battle with frontotemporal dementia — a heart-wrenching disease,” Lady Potter said in a statement.
The family will hold a private memorial this week.
On Wednesday, Seven entertainment reporter Peter Ford spoke about the former socialite’s death.
“Firstly, condolences to Lady Potter and also to Primrose’s daughter on the loss of Primrose. She was only 70 years old,” Ford said.
“In recent years she has been suffering from frontotemporal dementia.
“But look at them — that’s Prince Lorenzo and there’s Pitty Pat back in the day, going back to about 1990. This was a huge scandal.
“A four-day wedding was to be held in Venice, people flying in from all around the world. No expense was spared.
“And then on the night before the wedding, Prince Lorenzo ran off with the best man, leaving Primrose more or less at the altar on her own.
“It was an extraordinary story, lots of twists and turns in it.
“As it turns out, Primrose did go on to have a very happy life. She actually ended up becoming a countess.
“She has a beautiful daughter ... who is living in London.
“It was one of those pop culture stories in Australia that we’d never really seen before. It was so over the top and they should have made a movie about it.
“We take our hats off and remember her this morning.”
Originally published on Sunrise
