The nightie would have offered the monarch a roomy night’s sleep at 51 inches wide
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The year 2022 will go down in history as being Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, but it's items from one of her predecessors that's caught the eye of one of Derbyshire's auction houses. Until she was surpassed by our current Queen, Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch in the country's history, sitting on the throne between 1837 and 1901.
Now you have the chance to own a very unique and personal piece of clothing worn by Queen Victoria after one of her nighties was discovered at a house on the Isle of Wight. The enormous garment, measuring 51 inches across the girth, forms part of a collection of royal items that could sell for thousands of pounds at auction in Derbyshire next month.
Owned by Marilyn Rose, 90, the collection also includes the bloomers of Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Beatrice, a folder of letters connected to the royal household and a 19th-century toy box originally belonging to the princess.
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Marilyn Rose's son, Tim Rose, 64, is a retired forester from Warwickshire. He 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.
“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 as the house being cleared, which dates back to the 1700s, was once home to Sir William Carter Hoffmeister (1857-1944), Queen Victoria’s physician on the Isle of Wight. As well as the nightie and bloomers, a folder of letters has been found connected to the royal household. We also discovered a 19th-century toy box which belonged to Princess Beatrice.”
Forming part of the collection, Queen Victoria's nightie is made of pale cream lawn cotton and is edged with Honiton lace and embroidered with 'VR' for Victoria Regina, with a crown above. It's thought the extra-large garment could sell for between £1,500 and £2,000. Princess Beatrice's bloomers, dating back to the years following her marriage to Henry of Battenburg in 1885, could go for between £500 and £1,000.
The royal items are due to go under the hammer as part of Hansons Auctioneers' Banbury Fine Art and Antiques Auction on October 1.
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