Beatrice bonnet auction nears end

With just hours to go before the auction closes, bids for the unique royal wedding hat worn by Britain's Princess Beatrice at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton have now reached £81,000 (€92,800).

The controversial headpiece by Irish milliner Philip Treacy, described on auction site eBay as being made of “delicate tea rose silk”, is being sold to raise money for two charities nominated by the princess.

The 22-year-old sparked controversy on her cousin’s wedding day by donning the eccentric creation, which has since been compared to a toilet seat, a cat flap and a Turkey Twizzler.

Her decision to post it on eBay led to a flurry of bids being placed.

Bidding was interrupted when what the website called “a technical issue” led to the auction being suspended yesterday, however.

The site was later back up and running with a starting price of £80,000 – and as of 1pm today, the top bid by an anonymous buyer was £81,201.

All the money raised will go to Unicef UK and Children in Crisis via the Little Bee Initiative, which was set up by Beatrice specifically for the auction.

In a nod to the quirky design, the logo for Little Bee features a stylised drawing of the hat.

Pictures poking fun at the hat have been included on the eBay page, including one submitted by a member of the public showing Star Trek characters holding the item and saying: “Fascinators on stun.”

According to the website, the auction is now due to finish just after 8.30pm.

Beatrice commented on the site: “I’ve been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to raise as much money as possible for two fantastic charities.

“I hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have.”

The description on the auction site calls the hat a “unique sculptural celebratory headpiece”.

Treacy himself said he had been “surprised by the overwhelming response” to his hat.