Antiques Roadshow guessed stunned by value of items with royal link
An Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless when it was revealed during Sunday’s episode how much some former royal treasures were valued.
A female guest attended the roadshow at Belmont House in Kent and brought her items to expert John Benjamin to view.
She explained how the items – a gold egg-shaped pillbox and a round container – belonged to her grandmother, although they previously had a royal connection as they were associated with the late Princess Margaret.
The famed Christies auction house had previously sold the items that once belonged to the late Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon in 2006, four years after she died of a stroke.
On the BBC show, the guest talked about how her grandmother had traveled the world to locations like New York and Singapore to find such items, with the expert insisting she had done the right thing as they certainly had some value.
Shocked: An Antiques Roadshow guest gasped when it was revealed just how much some former royal treasures were valued during Sunday’s episode
Questions: A female guest attended the roadshow at Belmont House in Kent and brought her items to expert John Benjamin (pictured) to view
The guest said, ‘Being able to see this is incredibly special. To know and think what Princess Margaret might have used them for.”
Expert John said he had been to the original auction and described it as ‘a dazzling auction of beautiful items’.
He then revealed the amounts the items had sold for, with the gold item inscribed with Princess Margaret’s personal monogram costing £4,200.
It was inscribed: ‘Presented to Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, by De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, 18th April 1947.’
John continued, “Okay, now I’ve done some homework to establish what was paid for at the 2006 auction.
Referring to the gold, egg-shaped box, he said: ‘This little Cartier box, pill box, whatever you want to call it, sold at auction for £4,200.
‘This box here, this rather heavy box, sold for £9,000, so the question arises what are they worth today?’
He continued: ‘I’m going to give you a very broad estimate of the value, I think the golden egg – £4,200 in 2006, I’m going to say between £10,000 – £20,000 today.
Royal connection: She explained how the items – a gold pillbox and a round container – belonged to her grandmother, although they were once owned by the late Princess Margaret
Royal family: Auction house Christies had previously sold the items that once belonged to the late Princess Margaret in 2006, four years after she died following a stroke (Princess Margaret pictured in 1960)
‘The box sold for £9,000 then, £20,000 – £40,000 today. I really like this one, thank you.’
It comes after another Antiques Roadshow guest was baffled earlier this month by the true value of a diamond brooch given to her by an ex, which she wasn’t even sure was real.
Antiques expert Joanna Hardy met the owner of a jewelry collection in a classic episode that aired Sunday.
Joanna met the guest at Portchester Castle in Hampshire and told her, “There were two comments you made when you saw me laying your jewels here.
“One was, ‘Gosh, I haven’t seen these in a long time,’ and the second was you were hoping they were all real.”
said the owner. “So I seriously hope they’re real!”
Joanna asked the guest how she got the stuff.
She said they were given to her by an old boyfriend and Joanna joked, “He might look and think, ‘Why did I give her all those things?'”
The eclectic collection included a pair of ruby earrings and a 1920s Rolex.
But the guest said, ‘I’m not wearing any of this. I really regret not wearing any of it. I haven’t even taken them out for a long time.’
Joanna’s eye fell on a pair of brooches made of real diamonds and she confirmed, “They’re all real, everything is real,” much to the lady’s relief.
Wow! It comes after another Antiques Roadshow guest was baffled earlier this month by the true value of a diamond brooch given to her by an ex she thought was fake
Jewelry: The guest said the jewelry was given to her by an old boyfriend and Joanna joked, “He might look and think, ‘Why did I give her all those things?'”
The expert then paid special attention to a sapphire brooch embellished with the flag of the Royal London Yacht Club, noting that it was “beautifully made.”
Joanna revealed that the diamond brooch would fetch between £3,000 and £4,000 at auction, while the sapphire flag brooch was worth £3,000.
She added that the collection would total around £13-15k at auction.
The guest replied. ‘Gosh! And I didn’t even know if it was real, so that’s really impressive. Thank you, wow!’