Queen Victoria's bloomers set to go under the hammer

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Stacey Foster

A pair of Queen Victoria's bloomers are set to go under the hammer - and expected to sell for thousands of pounds.

At more than 130 years old, the monarch's underwear spent more than a century locked away inside a cupboard with other items from the regal wardrobe.

It's hard to imagine she would wish for them to go on display; let alone give the royal seal of approval to be auctioned off.

The garments were found by Roderick Williams in a wardrobe at his home in Norfolk.

His great-great grandfather was Queen Victoria's Royal Court Photographer.

It's thought the clothes were given to him by servants in the Royal Household.

"It would have been 'if you take photos of me and my family, I'll give you this pair of Queen Victoria's bloomers," he speculated.

The clothing is going to auction with other items belonging to Queen Victoria. Credit: ITV News

Experts aren't sure of the exact date of the clothing, but predict she would have worn the underwear in the late 1890s.

It is known she had a healthy appetite - with her waistline in later life reaching some 50 inches.

The sale is not first for Charles Hanson, manager of Hansons Auctioneers, he's sold a pair of the monarch's underwear in the past, reaching £5,000.

But that doesn't mean it comes without a sense of guilt: "Being a great royalist, I feel a bit embarrassed having her bloomers on display.

"But such is the regal history and provenance, they deserve to be seen," he told ITV News.

There has been great interest in the underwear, with interest from the United States and Europe already brewing.

The whole collection of clothing is expected to fetch £15,000 when bidding takes place next Tuesday.