Queen Victoria’s knickers make £4,500 in auction

A pair of Queen Victoria’s bloomers, with a 50-inch waist, were snapped up for £4,500 by a Canadian woman at Mackworth in Derby on Wednesday.

Auctioneer Charles Hanson said Queen Victoria’s underpants belonged to “a very big lady of quite small stature with a very wide girth.” She was said to be 5 feet tall.

The handmade knickers — which date to the 1890s — bear the monogram “VR” for Victoria Regina. They are open-crotch style, with separate legs joined by a drawstring at the waist, a popular style in the late Victorian era.

The royal drawers belonged to a family in western England whose ancestor was a lady-in-waiting for the queen.

Also up for auction was Queen Victoria’s chemise, with a 66-inch bust, which sold for £3,800. Her nightgown sold for £5,200.