A woman from Milton Keynes found a baby blanket made by a Queen of England while cleaning out her attic – and is selling it for hundreds at auction.

The pink crocheted shawl is thought to have been stitched by Queen Mary, the wife of King George V, in the 1930s or 40s, and bears the Buckingham Palace label, 'Made by Her Majesty the Queen'.

It was discovered by a 68-year-old woman from Milton Keynes while clearing out her elderly aunt's house in Wimbledon, south west London.

The blanket, which measures around 30cm by 60cm, is set to sell for hundreds when it goes under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers on Friday, September 27.

Notty Hornblower, textiles consultant at Hansons said the seller, who didn't want to be named, had "no idea how the remarkable royal discovery came into the family".

Adding: "Due to a similar find, we know Queen Mary occasionally donated these lovely little cot blankets to help families in London.

"An almost identical pink blanket made by the Queen sold for £400 at Hansons in 2022."

Notty added that the seller's mother had won it in 1938 at a mother and baby clinic at London's Claremont Mission in Islington – from when it became "her most treasured possession, tucked away in a box for decades".

(Image: SWNS)

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Mystery still surrounds its journey into a dusty attic in Wimbledon, however.

The seller, who works as a book-keeper in the Buckinghamshire city, said: "My 93-year-old aunt when into residential care about five years ago.

"When it became apparent that she could not return to her house, it had to be cleared and sold.

"As this was her parents' house prior to her owning it, there was an awful lot of stuff. 

"My aunt was widowed in 1993 and had no children – I asked her if she knew where the blanket had come from and she replied, 'I haven't a clue'.

"Unfortunately, after it came to me, it still didn't see the light of day, as I just stored it in my loft. My aunt told me to take it as she had no idea why she had it.

"It's only now, as I'm going through my own loft, that I've decided to seek a new home for it. It seems a shame to have it hidden away."

The royal baby blanket is being sold with a guide price of between £200 and £300 but could fetch far more. Click here for more information.