IS this the original Victoria’s Secret? A pair of Queen Victoria’s knickers fetched a record-breaking £12,090 (US$18,767) at auction Friday.

    The “big cotton pants” were dated to the late 1890s by measuring the waistline: 45.5 inches (115.6 cm).

    “As there’s a good photographic record of Queen Victoria, it’s possible to calculate her waist measurement over time, so we know when she would have worn items of this size,” said Richard Edmonds, from Chippenham Auction Rooms, where the sale took place.

    He added that the bloomers, embossed with “VR,” were in “excellent” condition, having been preserved in tissue paper in a temperature-controlled storeroom.

    They were bought by a private English collector, who also purchased a set of replica Crown Jewels for £5,500 at the sale.

    Last year, another pair of Victoria’s bloomers sold for £6,200.

    While earlier last week, a bloodied shawl worn by one of Jack the Ripper’s victims that may have proved the identity of the serial killer was advertised as going for auction for £2.9 million.

    (SD-Agencies)