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  • February 11, 2025
Monogrammed Queen Victoria bloomers are being auctioned

Monogrammed Queen Victoria bloomers are being auctioned

A pair of Queen Victoria’s wide bloomers are going under the hammer at an auction in Derbyshire.

Etwall-based Hansons Auctioneers hopes the underwear, which is on offer alongside a shirt and a pair of leather shoes also linked to the frost, will sell for hundreds of pounds on Thursday.

The clothes were passed down from generation to generation to a seller based in Ilminster, Somerset, whose great-grandmother was given the items as a gift by one of Victoria’s maids, Hansons said.

Hansons Auctioneers employees hold up the bloomers
Hansons Auctioneers employees Gillian Finney (left) and Helen Smith with the bloomers (Phil Barnett/PA)

The bloomers have a waist size of approximately 40 inches (101 cm) and have been featured on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

Notty Hornblower, historical clothing consultant at Hansons, said: “It is so exciting to discover historical artefacts relating to Queen Victoria. Clothing associated with her is in demand.

“This fantastic pair of cream cotton open drawers, camisole and leather slippers will fascinate collectors of royal memorabilia.

‘The undergarments probably date from the latter part of her years, as their size reflects a lady who was larger than life in more ways than one in the 1880s and 1890s.

The white shirt, bloomers and dark leather shoes were on a table
The lot is being offered by Hansons on Thursday (Phil Barnett/PA)

“Although she was only four feet tall and petite when she became queen at the age of 18, she loved her food and over the decades her waist grew to 59 inches.

“The wide bloomers, which are designed for comfort, indicate a waist size of approximately 40 inches.”

The bloomers bear a crown stamp and wash or inventory number 23, and are estimated at £500-£700, while on the shirt, an undergarment to protect the skin, a crown, the number 32 and initials are embroidered, and the same target price.

The slipper shoes, made by royal shoemaker Gundry & Sons, are also estimated at £500-£700.

Other examples of Queen Victoria’s clothing have fetched thousands of pounds, with Hansons selling a pair of bloomers for £4,500 in 2008 and a similar lot in Wiltshire in 2015 selling for more than £12,000.