Guests’ goody bags on eBay – for over £50k
THEY were supposed to be treasured mementos of an historic day.
But some of the goody bags handed out to guests at the royal wedding are already being hawked on auction websites – for £50,000 (€57,000) or more.
Harry and Meghan provided the commemorative canvas gift bags for 1,200 guests invited to watch from inside the grounds of Windsor Castle in recognition of their work in the local community.
The bags, inscribed with the couple’s initials, contained a giant chocolate coin, a tub of shortbread, a bottle of water, a fridge magnet, an order of service and a discount voucher for the castle’s gift shop.
They were not given to the 600 guests inside St George’s Chapel. At least 12 have been put up for auction on eBay. While some have attracted bids of just £60 (€68) so far, one – which did not include the owner’s spectator badge – reached £50,100 (€57,000) before apparently being withdrawn last night.
The seller, from Enniskillen, had listed the item on the day of the wedding. She wrote: ‘At the wedding today I received this wonderful gift bag for guests.’ She later added: ‘I forgot to mention all money raised will go to charity.’
Of the gift bags listed on eBay, three Cashing in: One of several royal goody bags on eBay yesterday sellers specified that they will be giving the money raised to charity. Homeless charity Swindon Night Shelter has raised at least £340 (€387) for its gift bag, with six days of bidding still to go. One mother decided to auction both her bag and her daughter’s after the pair enjoyed their day in Windsor.
Another advert invited browsers to ‘buy a piece of history and memorabilia to celebrate a momentous special day for Britons and the royal family’. The 1,200 recipients, known as Community Champions, were invited inside the grounds of Windsor Castle because of their charity work or community involvement.
They were among 2,640 allowed into the castle grounds on Saturday to watch the wedding party arrive at St George’s Chapel and see Harry and Meghan take an open carriage ride around Windsor afterwards.
Some lots offered for sale online included the spectator badge, which Community Champions had to wear to gain entry. Other wedding ‘souvenirs’ are also being offered.
A man from Maidenhead, near Windsor, put a Royal Wedding road sign on Gumtree for £220 (€250).
Official wedding programmes, which can be purchased online from the publisher for £15 (€17), are being sold for £75 (€85) on eBay, while copies of the order of service, which are available to download for free, were spotted on eBay for £4.99 (€5.70).
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