'Baggy bloomers': Pair of Queen Victoria's underpants to be auctioned in Derbyshire

A pair of underpants which belonged to Queen Victoria are going under the hammer at an auction in Derbyshire.

Etwall-based Hansons Auctioneers hopes the baggy bloomers, being offered alongside a chemise and a pair of leather shoes also linked to the monarch, will sell for hundreds of pounds on Thursday 12 December.

The clothing was passed down through the generations to a vendor based in Ilminster, Somerset, whose great-grandmother was gifted the items by one of Victoria’s maids.

Notty Hornblower, period clothing consultant at Hansons, said: “It’s so exciting to uncover historical items relating to Queen Victoria. Clothing connected to her is sought after.

“This fabulous pair of cream cotton open-drawers, the chemise and leather slipper shoes will fascinate collectors of royal memorabilia.

"The undergarments likely date to the latter part of her years, since their size reflects a lady who was larger than life in more ways than one in the 1880s and 1890s.

"Though she was only 4ft 11ins and petite when she became queen at 18, she liked her food and her waist expanded to 50 inches over the decades."

Ms Hornblower added: "The baggy bloomers, which were designed for comfort, indicate a waist size of around 40 inches.”

The bloomers bear a crown stamp and laundry or inventory number 23, and are guided at £500-£700.

The chemise, an undergarment to protect the skin, has a crown, the number 32 and initials embroidered onto it, and has the same guide price.

The slipper shoes, made by royal shoe maker Gundry & Sons, are also guided 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 achieving more than £12,000 in 2015 in Wiltshire.

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