Queen Victoria's 'queen-size' bloomers had a 50-inch waist!

London, July 12 : A pair of Queen Victoria's bloomers has been discovered, and they suggest that the famous British monarch had a large 50-inch waist.

The large size of the bloomers - by comparison, the average waist size for British women today is 33 inches - feeds into theories that Queen Victoria became morbidly obese in her later years.

The drawers will be auctioned along with a selection of other Royal undergarments.

These include a nightdress and a chemise with an impressive 66-inch bust - nearly double the average chest size in Britain today.

The nightdress is also 50 inch from shoulder to hem, since Victoria was barely five feet tall in her later years.

"It's hard to imagine, say, a likely future Queen such as Kate Middleton wearing these. Some accounts claim Victoria had a waist measurement of up to 60 inches by the 1890s, and these items certainly suggest a fair girth," Telegraph quoted auctioneer Charles Hanson, as saying.

Although deemed fit for a Queen, Victoria's knickers are extremely plain - save for a tiny embroidered crown and the initials "VR".

Vanessa Savage, a textiles expert at Hanson's Auctioneers, said the knickers had been kept preserved for decades by the family of one of Victoria's servants.

The knickers are expected to fetch 500 pounds and the chemise and nightdress 300 pounds each at a sale in Mackworth, Derby, on July 30.

The items being sold by Hanson, who's a regular on TV's Bargain Hunt antiques show.

ANI