Nelson’s flag sold for £297k
PART of a Union Jack which is believed to have been flown from Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar has been sold for almost £300,000.
Nelson was fatally shot during the 1805 battle when the Royal Navy defeated a Spanish and French force. The flag was returned to England with Nelson’s body and carried at his funeral by Victory’s seamen who kept fragments as a memento.
The piece sold by Sotheby’s in London yesterday measured 34in by 36in and was expected to fetch £80,000 to £100,000.
The hammer eventually fell at £240,000 for a final price, including buyer’s premium and VAT, of £297,000.