Unearthed underwear could see Queen Victoria's nightie sell for £1,500

2022-08-30

Queen’s Victoria’s voluminous nightdress measuring 51in wide will be auctioned alongside her daughter Beatrice’s bloomers after being uncovered during a house clear out

Royal garments were discovered at a house on the Isle of Wight during a move
Queen Victoria’s cream cotton nightdress is expected to sell for up to £2,000
Her daughter Princess Beatrice’s bloomers will sell for up to £1,000

Queen Victoria’s voluminous nightgown – measuring 51in wide – and her daughter Princess Beatrice’s bloomers are set to fetch more than £3,000 after being discovered in a property at the Isle of Wight.

Queen Victoria’s pale cream lawn cotton nightdress is edged with Honiton lace and embroidered with ‘VR’, standing for Victoria Regina, and a crown insignia.

Beatrice, the youngest of Victoria and Albert’s nine children, had her bloomers embroidered with the initials ‘BB’ for Beatrice of Battenburg.

Queen Victoria’s voluminous nightie – measuring 51in wide – and her daughter Princess Beatrice’s bloomers are set to fetch more than £3,000 after being discovered in a property at the Isle of Wight. Pictured, Queen Victoria and her favourite daughter in 1880

Queen Victoria’s nightdress, estimated to sell for £1,500-£2,000. Queen Victoria’s voluminous nightie – measuring 51 inches across the girth may be a ‘coveted item’ previous undergarments have sold for thousands

Hansons’ period clothing consultant Notty Hornblower with Princess Beatrice’s bloomers

This indicates they would have been worn in the years following her marriage to Henry of Battenburg in 1885. Beatrice, who is widely considered to have been her mother’s favourite child, died in 1944, aged 87.

The royals spent a lot of time at the Isle of Wight at Osborne House.

The bloomers are expected to fetch £500-£1,000 at auction, while the Queen’s nightie could go for £1,500 to £2,000.

They were found at a property by Tim Rose, 64, and retired antiques shop owner Marilyn Rose, 90, alongside an old toy chest belonging to the princess and a fold of letters connected to the royal household.

Marilyn, who was thrilled about the discovery, opened her first antiques shop in the mid-70s in Gurnard on the Isle of Wight and went on to run an outlet in Newport.

Tim, a retired forester from Warwickshire, said: ‘My mother is moving and we have been clearing the period property. The bloomers and nightie were among several fascinating finds, some of which are new to us.

A pine toy chest inscribed ‘Toy Music HRH Princess Beatrice’, has an estimate of £400-600 at auction

Queen Victoria’s nightgown is delicately embroidered with ‘VR’ Victoria Regina and Princess Beatrice’s Bloomers have two interlocked ‘B’s which stands for Beatrice Battenberg

Notty Hornblower shows off Queen Victoria’s extra large cream nightdress which is embroidered with ‘VR’ and has a crown symbol

‘Mum can’t remember exactly how or when she came to own the bloomers and nightdress but it’s not surprising items relating to Queen Victoria and her family emerge on the Isle of Wight because the queen spent a huge amount of time at Osborne House, her holiday home there.

‘There is another royal connection to the house that was being cleared by us, as it was once home to Sir William Carter Hoffmeister, Queen Victoria’s physician on the Isle of Wight.

‘As well as the nightie and bloomers, a folder of letters have been found connected to the royal household. We also discovered a 19th century toy box which belonged to Princess Beatrice.’

The items will be auctioned at Hanson’s Auctioneers in Teddington, south-west London.

Victoria’s clothing is ‘sought after’ according to Hanson’s period clothing consultant Notty Hornblower, who revealed that a taffeta black skirt once worn by the Queen was sold for an eye-watering £14,000.

Beatrice’s bloomers – the Princess and fifth child of the royal household, was likely to have worn these bloomers after her marriage to Henry Battenberg as they are embroidered with the initials ‘BB’

Period clothing consultant Notty Hornblower said: ‘Princess Beatrice is fascinating, especially when you consider her lifelong devotion to Queen Victoria.

‘She was her mother’s favourite and spent most of her life as her companion.

‘Victoria came to depend on Beatrice, especially after the premature loss of Prince Albert in 1861. Beatrice was only four at the time and, being the youngest daughter, gradually became indispensable to her grief-stricken mother.

‘As other siblings married and moved away Beatrice remained and Victoria couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving too.

‘In fact, she was so set against her marrying she refused to discuss the possibility. Nevertheless, Beatrice fell in love with Prince Henry of Battenberg.

‘After a year of persuasion, the queen finally agreed to the marriage which took place on the Isle of Wight – providing Beatrice and Henry lived with her.

Hansons’ period clothing consultant Notty Hornblower measures the width of Queen Victoria’s nightdress

‘The couple had four children but in 1896 Prince Henry died of malaria while fighting in the Anglo-Asante War.

‘Heartbreakingly, both mother and daughter lost their husbands prematurely.

‘After her husband’s death, Beatrice succeeded him as Governor of the Isle of Wight, living first at Osborne with her mother and later at Carisbrooke Castle.

‘Beatrice remained at her mother’s side until she died in 1901. The devoted daughter then spent the next 30 years editing her mother’s journals. She died at the age of 87, outliving all her siblings.

‘It’s possible the items set for auction may have been gifted to servants in the Royal Household on the Isle of Wight. Mementos are then passed down through the generations and occasionally find their way to auction, or to an antiques shop. They are lovely examples of royal memorabilia and deserve to excel at auction.’

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