Queen Victoria's bloomers to be sold at auction

A pair of bloomers owned by Queen Victoria are expected to fetch up to £6,000 at auction in Wiltshire.

The bloomers, which have a 42.5in (107cm) waistband, are made of fine linen and embroidered with the VR monogram.

The sale also includes an "absolutely massive" chemise worn by Britain's longest-serving monarch.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "Both items are in remarkable condition - she probably only wore them once or twice."

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The lace-trimmed chemise, measuring 60in (152cm), and bloomers were given to the seller's grandmother by one of Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting.

"These bloomers are 42.5in. Towards the end of her life she got very big - you're talking 50in - so these are from the late 1890s," Mr Aldridges said.

"The chemise is slightly later it's a 60in chest, which is absolutely massive. In modern sizes its four times XL."

They will go under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, on 17 December.

In 2015, a pair of Queen Victoria's cotton pants sold at auction in Wiltshire for £10,500 while a pair of silk bloomers made £6,200 at an auction in Kent.