LONDON – That zany hat Princess Beatrice wore to the royal wedding – the one compared to everything from a giant pretzel to a toilet seat and antlers – proved remarkably desirable Sunday, going for £81,100 ($131,341) in an eBay auction for charity.
The winning bidder, who was not identified, now gets free shipping for the chapeau, which is described on the eBay site as “pre-owned.” But he or she should be prepared: it also warns “no returns accepted.”
Bidding was vigorous for the tea-rose silk Philip Treacy creation, spiraling upwards from an opening bid of £5,000 ($8,229) when it first went on sale May 12.
The 22-year-old princess, the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson and a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, is going to split the hat proceeds between two charities: the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and the British charity Children in Crisis.
The hat drew so much attention when Beatrice donned it for the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, it inspired its own Facebook page entitled “Princess Beatrice’s Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hat”– attracting nearly 140,000 fans.