Royal Watch News

Queen Victoria's pants sell for 360 pounds

Nov 22, 2012, 12:02 GMT

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

A pair of Britain's Queen Victoria's bloomers have sold for £360.

The late monarch's linen underwear proved popular as royal collectors from around the world flocked to the Colchester-based auction in Britain's county of Essex on Tuesday (20.11.12) to get their hands on covetable royal artefacts.

A collector from Braintree snapped up the queen's enormous undergarments - which measure 38in (97cm) - for just £360.

James Grinter, from Reeman Dansie auctioneers, said: 'You can't get more personal than royal pants. We commented that Queen Victoria would not have been amused - they were enormous and very rare.'

However, the sale marks a huge fall in value since a giant pair of her bloomers fetched £9,375 in a 2011 auction - which was three times their pre-sale estimate.

The most expensive item sold at the royal auction was a gilded carriage clock, engraved with the inscription 'Presented by HRH The Princess of Wales', which went for £4,900.

A piece of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake fetched even more than the underpants with a top bid of £420.

Auctioneer James told BBC News: '[The cake is] rare, has novelty and I think people like to show it off to their friends.

'They are quite a good investment if you buy them at the right time and it's quite conceivable the buyers could make money on it. It's the first piece of that cake we've ever sold.'

The auction sold 146 of the 150 royal lots for a grand total of £42,000.