A LIFE-SIZE doll of the Queen as she was in 1929 has turned up at an antiques discovery day in East Yorkshire.
The doll dates was modelled on the then three-and-a-half year old future Queen by German doll makers Schoenau and Hoffmeister.
The firm applied to Buckingham Palace for an endorsement but they were turned down flat, it is believed, because the Royals thought the doll made the princess look too chubby. In the face of the rejection Schoenau and Hoffmeister pulled the plug on the doll, with the result that it is now incredibly rare.
Experts at leading auctioneers Dee Atkinson & Harrison were amazed when a retired pub landlady from Bridlington walked into an antiques valuation day at the firm’s saleroom in Driffield with one of the dolls.
Valuer Graham Paddison said: “It is extremely rare, the first that we have ever seen – and probably the only one we will ever see.”
The doll, which is expected to make between £400 and £500, is to be one of the star lots in a Classic Toy & Collectable Auction at Driffield on Saturday, March 24.
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