Only five bids made for Beatrice's Royal Wedding hat

In the UK, only five bids have been made for Princess Beatrice's bizarre royal wedding hat since it went up for auction yesterday.

Duncan Bannatyne opened the bidding for the Philip Treacy creation which has been compared to a toilet seat and a pretzel.

Since the Dragon's Den star matched the starting price of £5,000 (€5,700), only a few further offers have been made.

Currently the top bid stands at £5,600 (€6,400).

The headpiece sparked an outbreak of mirth and derision when the young royal donned it for the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton last month.

Royal wedding watchers compared it to a Turkey Twizzler, a toilet seat and a pretzel and Facebook pages sprung up in its honour, attracting thousands of followers.

Undeterred, the 22-year-old princess decided to sell off the curious item for charity, with Unicef and Children in Crisis to benefit from the funds raised.

Unicef was unable to confirm who had outbid entrepreneur Bannatyne, but was not worried about the sale’s slow start.

A spokeswoman said: “We’re so pleased Princess Beatrice has done this and every penny raised will make a difference.

“Already £5,000 is enough to provide four essential midwifery kits, which contain all of the medicines, medical supplies and sterilisation equipment for a maternity ward to support the safe delivery of 50 babies.”

Bannatyne, a Unicef UK ambassador, said: “Whatever anyone thinks of the hat, it’s fantastic that Princess Beatrice is doing this for Unicef and Children in Crisis. Good for her...

“I’d encourage everyone to get bidding to raise as much money as possible. For once I don’t mind if I don’t walk away with the deal.”

Anyone wanting to emulate Beatrice’s look has until May 22 to place a bid for what is billed as a “unique sculptural celebratory headpiece”.