AUCTIONEERS are used to seeing treasured items with Royal ties go up for sale- but not often does that include stockings.

Amy Brennan from Duke's in Dorchester attended a special valuation morning put on by DOMVS estate agents.

As expected, a varied range of items were brought in to the Wareham branch for valuation- including a pair of Queen Victoria's mourning stockings.

Queen Victoria wore the stockings after the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert in December, 1861.

As is well documented, the Queen- who reigned from - spent the rest of her life mourning after her husband died aged just 42.

His passing left Victoria devastated, writing to her daughter: "How I, who leant on him for all and everything-without whom I did nothing, moved not a finger, arranged not a print or photograph, didn't put on a gown or bonnet if he didn't approve it shall go on, to live, to move, to help myself in difficult moments?"

It is not known how the stockings ended up in the possession of the current owner, but much of the monarch's wardrobe was distributed to members of the Royal household when she died.

The owner of the stockings is now considering if they want to sell.

In 2010, another pair of Queen Victoria's mourning stockings fetched £700 at auction.

Deborah Doyle, auctioneer at Duke's, said the stockings will go up for sale at a vintage clothing auction on October 14.

She added: “They are unused but have got the Royal logo on.

“The first pair to go up for auction fetched thousands of pounds, but we would probably expect a few hundred given that quite a few pairs have emerged since then.

“She would have had the mourning stockings made after the death of Albert- and she would have had a lot of them.”

Polly Greenway of DOMVS, said: “When you hold events like this you never know what will turn up. However these stockings were an unexpected bonus.”