Toronto woman buys Queen Victoria's not-so-secret knickers
Bloomers with 50-inch waistline auctioned for $9,000
A Toronto woman paid about $9,000 for Queen Victoria's knickers at a British auction on Wednesday.
Barbara Rusch, who has been collecting Queen Victoria memorabilia for nearly 25 years, said she was very lucky to get a chance to bid on the underpants with a 50-inch waistline, which sold for $9,000, at an auction in central England.
"This is a wonderful, wonderful find for me today and a great acquisition … to add to my collection," she told the Globe and Mail.
The handmade knickers date back to the 1890s and bear the monogram, VR, for Victoria Regina. They have an open crotch with separate legs joined by a drawstring at the waist, a popular style in the late Victorian era.
The underpants belonged to a family in western England whose ancestor was a lady in waiting for the queen.
Before bidding began, auctioneer Charles Hanson valued the queen's knickers at about $1,000.
With files from the Canadian Press