The unlikely star of the Prince William and Kate Middleton's Royal wedding, Princess Beatrice's Philip Treacy-designed hat has been sold.
Taking advantage of the worldwide fascination with the extraordinary accessory (albeit mostly mocking), the Queen's granddaughter put it up for grabs on online auction site eBay. Almost as soon as it went online, bids scrambled up to £11,000 ($18,300), and finally last night the virtual hammer came down on a final price of £81,100.01 ($131,600).
All the proceeds from the hat will go to two charities - UNICEF UK and Children in Crisis, via the Little Bee Initiative which Beatrice set up for the sale - indeed the stylised 'bee' logo is supposed to resemble the hat in shape.
Despite reviews for the hat's style being at best mixed, with wags comparing it variously to a cat flap, toilet seat, octopus and alien amongst other things, the hat's unique and unforgettable style made it perhaps the most desirable piece of memorabilia to come out of the event.
We suggested that this unique piece of royal memorabilia must count as a strong investment, although it may be some time before it could be resold for this amount.
Princess Beatrice herself said of the hat, "I've been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted. It's a wonderful opportunity to raise as much money as possible for two fantastic charities. I hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have."
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