When it comes to celebrities, pretty much anything they touch or even go near has value. Oh, a used tissue? Sell it. Grass they walked on? Sell it. The same goes for the royal family. The royals understand the power they have, and sometimes they'll take advantage of it by auctioning off their own used items to raise money for charity. Or other times, royal fans will sell their own memorabilia to make some extra cash.
It's pretty well known that the royals have auctioned regular items such as their cars or clothing before. Princess Diana sold a lot of her iconic dresses to benefit charity causes in the late 1990s. But those are far from the only items that have gone up for sale. There have been some truly wild royal auctions over the years for very old (and very stale) cake, underwear, and more.
Princess Diana's Engagement Gift
When Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles got engaged, he bought her a car, which recently sold at auction for $72,000. And while it's pretty standard for the royals' vehicles to be auctioned off, Diana's came with something extra special — a silver frog hood ornament. According to CNN, it's a replica of the one given to Diana by her sister and was meant to represent the tale of the woman who kissed a frog to find her prince.
A Piece of Diana's Wedding Cake
Imagine paying $2,500 for a slice of Diana and Charles' 40-year-old wedding cake. That's what one fan did in 2020 when a piece of the dessert went up for sale. The auction house advised against eating the vintage item, which came from one of 23 cakes baked for the royal wedding. Um, yeah, we hope no one eats it.
Prince William & Kate Middleton's Wedding Cake
Diana and Charles aren't the only royals to auction off their wedding cake. Pieces of Kate Middleton and Prince William's eight-tier fruitcake have been auctioned off over the years — usually to benefit charity. In 2014, a then-3-year-old piece of the confection was sold for $11,000. What do the winners even do with the item, though?
Meghan Markle & Prince Harry's Wedding Gift Bags
No word yet on whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to auction off old slices of their own wedding cake, but another item from their ceremony did end up for sale. Many attendees sold their royal wedding gift bags on eBay, with one going for more than $1,000. The bag contained Windsor Castle branded water, a chocolate coin, shortbread, and a coupon for the castle's gift shop.
A Letter About Harry Being Naughty
In 2017, six of Diana's handwritten letters sold for $18,000 at auction, including a note she wrote about son Harry's school troubles. "The boys are well and enjoying boarding school a lot, although Harry is constantly in trouble!" the letter reads. So awkward for poor Harry that the letter is out there in the open.
A Letter in Which Diana Revealed the Queen's Nickname
Several more of Diana's private letters where auctioned off in early 2021, including a note where the princess referred to the Queen by the nickname "the Boss." She wrote to a friend, "I just hope your arrival at Westminster Abbey was before the Boss." That specific note sold for $12,000.
Royal Christmas Cards
Diana isn't the only one who's had her correspondence auctioned off (although perhaps the only one who didn't know). In December 2020, a Sandringham estate staff member sold several royal Christmas cards signed and sent by the Queen and Charles over the years. The proceeds from the auction went to charity.
Kate Middleton's See-Through Dress
While Kate and William were in college, he reportedly took note of her when she appeared in a student fashion show and walked down the runway in a mesh dress wearing nothing underneath but underwear. The same garment was later auctioned off for $125,000, shortly before the couple tied the knot in 2011.
The Queen's Underwear
If anyone was scandalized by Kate's see-through dress selling at auction, what about learning that the Queen Elizabeth's underwear once went up for auction as well? Reportedly, the item was obtained when she accidentally left it behind on her private jet after a tour to Chile in 1968. We couldn't find any evidence the item sold at the auction, but perhaps that's for the best.
Queen Victoria's Nightgown
The late Queen Victoria also had one of her private clothing items sold at auction. In 2020, one of her nightgowns was sold for around $1,500. The 19th-century clothing item featured ruffles, lace, decorative buttons, and the queen's cyper in embroidery, just so no one ever got confused about who the item belonged to.
Bagels Baked by Kate
Kate and William made a charity stop at a local bagel shop in 2020 and helped out in the back with some of the baking. A few weeks later, two of the bagels the duchess helped make showed up on eBay. What's with royal fans wanting to buy and sell old royal food? According to Marie Claire, the listing didn't receive any bids, but yeah someone really tried that.
A Funny Photo of Charles
When Charles visited New Zealand in 1983, he was photographed standing next to a mill worker who happened to be wearing a shirt that said, "I'm with Stupid." The arrow on the shirt pointed right at Charles. The funny picture later sold at auction for $22,000, because who doesn't love a silly photo of the future king?
A Golden Wii Console
After learning that the Queen was reportedly a big Wii fan, the video game company THQ tried sending Her Majesty a gold gaming console. But allegedly the palace refused to sign for the package, and the Queen never received the snazzy gift. It was eventually sent back, and it's now on eBay for $300,000 if you're so inclined.
Meghan's 'Deal or No Deal' Briefcase
As we all know, before Meghan was the Duchess of Sussex, she was an actress — and one of her jobs was as a briefcase model on the Deal or No Deal game show. She used briefcase No. 24 during her time on the series, and the iconic prop recently went up for auction where it was expected to fetch anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000.
Vehicle Tax
After Prince Philip's death, a lot of memorabilia went up on eBay with people looking to cash in. One of the items was Philip's "tax disc" from 2008. It's similar to vehicile registration tags in the US, but with the car's registration information on it. Seems like kind of a weird item to own, sell, or buy, but people are strange.
