Queen’s coat bought in jumble sale for £10A woman, Gaynor Andrews, has discovered her favourite second-hand coat, bought for £10 from a jumble sale nearly fifty years ago, was previously worn by The Queen.
Gaynor Andrews with her mother Margaret and the special coat. The Queen wearing what is believed to be the coat bought by Margaret Andrews Photo: SWNS
The 57-year-old, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was surprised when she saw the distinctive silk jacket, inherited from her 82-year-old mother Margaret, in a photograph of the monarch dating from 1953.
She said the family had always known the coat belonged to someone important but had no idea it had been worn by a young Queen Elizabeth II shortly before she set off on her tour of the Commonwealth.
the coat from a gentleman who was arranging a jumble sale for the Sea Cadets in Epsom, Surrey.
“He told her it had come from ‘a high-up place’ but wouldn’t say any more. Mum paid between £5 and £10 for it in 1961 – which was quite a lot in those days – and thought nothing more of it.
“It was only when I was looking at the television guide a few weeks ago when I saw an old picture of the Queen. I thought ‘that coat looks familiar’ and when I looked closer I realised it was the exact same item.”
She added: “The photo was of her during her 1953 tour around Britain. It’s a very distinctive coat so I was shocked to see it on her.
“I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else.”
A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace would not comment on the coat but confirmed some of the Queen’s old clothes end up in public hands after being sold on.
