Treasures of Forbes family up for auction

IN THE palatial bathroom close to the blue-and-gold bedroom with its opulent four-poster – Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned here – there’s a secret panel, behind which lurks a pair of silk knickers.

They are not just any old unmentionables, however, for they were worn by Queen Victoria and are framed as if a work of art.

And they are about to go on sale in Scotland, as the possessions of one of the fabulously wealthy Forbes family are put up for auction. The monarch’s big knickers, which could fetch up to £3,000 when they are auctioned by Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on 1 November, are among 580 lots – valued at more than £4 million – being sold by the Forbes family, the US publishing dynasty founded by Aberdeenshire-born financial journalist Bertie Charles Forbes in 1917.

The family are selling the contents of their ten-bedroom riverside London mansion Old Battersea House, which is on the market at a guide price of £12m, in Scotland because of their love of the country and in recognition of their Highland roots, said Christopher “Kip” Forbes, vice chairman of Forbes.

Speaking from New York, Forbes – whose brothers Steve, Robert and Timothy are all involved in the media empire that flourished under their flamboyant father, the late Malcolm Forbes, known for his love of the Highlands – said they could have taken the sale to one of the big London auction houses but they wanted to bring it “home” to Scotland.

“We’re very proud of our Scottish heritage,” he said. “My sister Moira graduated from Aberdeen University. I believe that our grandfather, who is buried in St Kane’s Churchyard, in New Deer, Aberdeenshire, the village where he was born, would have been thrilled that we’d acquired so many exquisite objects and that we’re selling them in Edinburgh, where one of his great grandsons is currently studying at the university.

“There are many beautiful Scottish pictures in the sale, such as Charles Burton Barber’s painting of Queen Victoria on horseback with her personal servant John Brown. It was a gift to Brown from the Queen. We would, of course, be delighted if it were to stay in Scotland,” said Forbes, adding that he hopes some Scottish institutions might bid for it.

Lyon & Turnbull director Gavin Strang said: “We believe there will be keen interest in the painting of Queen Victoria, on which we’ve an upper estimate of £30,000. Perhaps Billy Connolly, who famously played John Brown opposite Judi Dench in the film Mrs Brown, might be involved in the bidding. There are many other fine paintings in the sale – around 250 – including important works by Sir John Everett Millais and Sir Edward Burne-Jones.

Malcolm Forbes was a great collector of pre-Raphaelite and Victorian art, as well as royal memorabilia, Strang said. “We expect a Millais painting, For The Squire, and Burne-Jones’s Princess Chained To A Tree, to make more than £1m between them. A second Burne-Jones, Study For The Mirror Of Venus, has an upper estimate of £300,000.”

Also included in the sale is antique furniture, such as the four-poster (£8,000-£12,000) that Elizabeth Taylor slept in with her seventh husband, Larry Fortensky. Twin beds once occupied by Ronald and Nancy Reagan could be sold for £15,000.

Kip Forbes said he was not sad to see the family’s collection go. Old Battersea House was the scene of many lavish parties where Malcolm, who flew hot-air balloons and zipped around on a motorbike, entertained not only US presidents and Hollywood stars but members of the Royal Family.

“We had a great deal of fun in the house, 40 years of laughter-filled memories,” said Forbes, recalling that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber played Happy Birthday for him on the rare Arts & Crafts walnut grand piano (£12,000-£18,000).

The family have recently sold off much of their trophy collection, from an island in the Fiji archipelago to a grand ranch in Colorado, a palace in Tangiers and a custom Boeing 727, as well as the world’s largest private collection of Fabergé eggs. In 2003, they auctioned about 300 pieces in London, raising £17m.

Forbes denies that they are cashing in their assets. “None of us is getting any younger,” he said. “My siblings and I are putting our individual estates in order, preparing for the next generation. Currently, Forbes goes from strength to strength, particularly online.”

He said that all the family had inherited the collecting disease from Malcolm, who died at the age of 70 in 1990 and once claimed: “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

Forbes added: “We’ve all been pretty good at spending money, but now one is having, like everybody else, to be constrained. We still miss our father – he was the happiest millionaire. Life sure is a lot duller without him.