[imagesource: Press Association]
Queen Elizabeth II’s peaceful passing yesterday has sent the internet into overdrive.
Besides the general media being up to their ears in coverage related to Her Majesty, eBay sellers are also leveraging a few opportunities to make a quick buck.
Opportunistic royal fanatics are out there are trying to sell so-called Queen Elizabeth II “memorabilia”.
7NEWS Australia points out some of the more bizarre sales, including a teabag allegedly “used” by the Queen in 1998.
The eBay listing, titled ‘Celebrity Memorabilia Queen Elizabeth II Regina Britannia Teabag Extremely Rare’, sold for a delicious $12 000 – R208 000.
Behold:
The listing, which urged you to “Own a piece of History! Priceless”, further read:
“This is the very teabag you might have seen on CNN in late 1998.”
“It was used by Queen Elizabeth II Regina Britannia and smuggled out of Windsor Castle by the special exterminator who was called in to help Her Majesty cope with the great London roach infestations of the 1990s.”
The seller, from Georgia in the US, was savvy enough to include a Certificate of Authenticity issued by the Institute of Excellence in Certificates of Authenticity:
The certificate says the IECA “has determined beyond any doubt that the following statements are absolutely true: This is a teabag”.
Yes, that much is clear, but is it the Queen’s teabag? (sceptical questioning emoji).
This particular eBay seller has a range of “real” and “rare” memorabilia from other famous folks.
In eBay’s other Queen-obsessed nooks and crannies is a guest book that claims to contain the signatures from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip:
The listing claims the book was used as a guest register to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway in 1985.
It is listed for $25 000 – more than twice as much as the teabag.
There’s also a sale for a lock of King George III’s hair going for $9 500.
The listing boasts that this is “one of three known strands of King George’s hair in the world”. It goes on to stipulate that the hair is contained in an original envelope that reads, “His Majesty’s hair, cut off July 30th 1814”.
What’s that saying about a fool and their money?
[source:7newsau]
