BRITAIN:A PAIR of handstitched and embroidered knickers, with a waistband big enough to fit around a rain barrel, and a "VR" monogram proving they once belonged to Queen Victoria, sold yesterday for £4,500 (€5,725), against a top estimate of £500.
A Canadian collector bought the garments, which have a 128cm (50.4 inch) waist. They were sold by a Lincolnshire family whose ancestor received them as a reward for service as a lady-in-waiting. A royal nightgown from the same collection went for £5,500, and a chemise with an imperial 169cm bust for £4,000.
There has been much debate among costume historians about Queen Victoria's shape: paintings tend to flatter her as a girlish sylph right into middle age.
However, later in her reign the camera reveals the truth: she had a cottage-loaf-shaped figure swathed in black mourning dress for the rest of her life after the death of her beloved Albert.
Measurement of Victoria's gowns show her height shrank so that towards the end of her life she was only 1.48m (4ft 8in).
She is also known to have preferred loose-fitting clothes to the corseted "Victorian" ideal. A petticoat from the same 1890s period as the knickers sold yesterday only has a 97cm (38.2 inch) waistband.
Victoria's underwear often turns up at auctions. Hundreds of sets, including stockings, petticoats and nightgowns, were given away after her death.
- (Guardian service)