An Antiques Roadshow visitor was taken aback by the price of a pair of Queen Victoria’s knickers.
The guy brought a rare pair of bloomers and a nightgown to Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, and expert Hilary Kay was blown away by the things that formerly belonged to the British queen, who reigned from 1937 to 1901.
The visitor got the personal artefacts from his late aunt, who worked as the Queen’s daughter Princess Louise’s lady in waiting.
After assessing the garments, Hilary asked: ‘What do we say about value?’
‘No idea,’ he replied, while the expert teased a high value amid a ‘strong’ market for this kind of item.
‘I know that the market is strong and I would certainly say something above £15,000,’ she said, leaving onlookers – and the guest himself – stunned.
‘Right, that’s a lot of money, worth hanging onto then. Very good,’ he said. ‘I’m amazed that there is such interest – that people want to pay so much money for this sort of item.
‘I think we need now to make sure they’re looked after safely and perhaps better than just being put in a box.’
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time a pair of Queen Victoria’s genuine underwear has been valued highly on the BBC show.
Last summer, a memorable episode aired, with Hilary once again probing Victoria’s secrets.
‘We all love a box, don’t we? And this box has a secret. And let’s see what that secret is,’ she teased as she pulled out the pants. ‘Well on here is a monogram which says VR, so what are we looking at.’
The guest responded: ‘We are looking at a very fine pair of Queen Victoria’s knickers.’
As she inspected the garments, the expert explained: ‘They are a fabulous pair of what is known as open drawers. And open drawers is exactly what ladies wore throughout the course of the 19th century.
‘It is an extraordinary rarity I have to say. So explain to me exactly how you got this amazing piece of royal memorabilia?’
The pants had been passed down through her family for ‘a number of years,’ according to Hilary, who also mentioned that Queen Victoria was known to give away her panties as gifts of devotion.
In terms of the valuation, she added: ‘I have to tell you that the last pair I saw at auction fetched £16,000.’
Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC One.
Source My Celebrity Life.
