'Antiques Roadshow' guest says 'that's a lot of money' after hearing the value of British royalty items
Items belonging to royalty are expected to appear on "Antiques Roadshow," but a queen's undergarments are still an unusual sight. A guest who walked in with Queen Victoria's personal items was left stunned after finding out the value of his collection. The show's expert, Hilary Kay, didn't just surprise the guest with the $20,200 but left the crowd gasping for air as well. The appraiser revealed that the items were the undergarments of the Former Queen of the United Kingdom, and were marked to be quite special in the collector's market.
The guest brought in a special collection of items that he received from his great-aunt. Upon looking at the items, Kay noted that it was an "extraordinary" collection of Queen Victoria's personal items. "When you see a VR cipher, the initials under a crown on anything, you know that you have something exciting. You have a piece of royal clothing," she said immediately. She then asked the guest where he got the items from, and the guest shared that his great-aunt worked closely with the Royals.
"In the late 1930s and 1940s, she was lady's maid to a Lady Inglefield, who was the wife of Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield, who came from a long line of naval people," he told Kay. He then explained that his family found a sketch done by Princess Louise of one of the Inglefield admirals, so they thought the items may have a link with Queen Victoria.
Kay noted that Princess Louise was one of Queen Victoria's daughters, so there was definitely a link. She further found it interesting that there were a lot of undergarments belonging to Queen Victoria in the market today. "I've spoken to the Historic Royal Palaces about this, and the thought is actually that she asked her staff to give these away, not because they were worn out, but because actually they were in reasonable condition," Kay shared.
She further explained that the items were made of beautiful fabric, and people who got them kept them for good. "I think because of the personal nature of these, I think people did keep them as souvenirs, as a direct link to something very personal to the Queen," she said. She then examined the items one by one to reveal the significance of the collection. She noted that all of the items were made by a particular company that made clothing for the Queen. She explained how the split drawers, black stockings, and nightdresses were worn by the Queen back in the day. "These are called drawers because you draw them before putting on a corset," she explained.
Coming to the appraisal, the expert told the guest that the market for such items was strong and the collection could be of great value. "I would certainly say something above £15,000," she said, making the crowd gasp, while the guest said, "Right, that's a lot of money. Worth hanging on to, then. Very good."
In the end, the guest expressed that he was astonished to find out that there are people who would pay such great sums for items like undergarments in the antique market.
