Queen Elizabeth was once gifted with a special golden Wii, the gaming console from Nintendo, and now the collector who has been in possession of it has decided to put up the device for auction on eBay.
According to reports, a Dutch gaming collector named Donny Fillerup, who is also one of the people behind Consolevariations.com, is asking for $300,000 for the golden Wii and he is selling the prized item because he wants to move on with his life. He will use the money to buy a new house where he can have his "me time. "
To be clear, however, Queen Elizabeth never played a game on the unique video game console. According to Polygon, the monarch likely never saw her "gift" as well as this was actually a marketing ploy from the gaming company THQ.
More than a decade ago, THQ was releasing its Wii-exclusive party game, Big Family Games, and learned that Queen Elizabeth plays the Wii. So, the company planned on sending an especially designed golden Wii for the most popular family in the world: the British royal family.
However, Buckingham Palace allegedly returned the item to THQ and a few years later, the gaming developer filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The golden Wii ended up with the avid collector in The Netherlands.
Fillerup said that the golden Wii was estimated to be worth millions by "top-end gaming industry people" but he is only asking $300,000 for it. He said that the machine still works flawlessly but its golden remote has some wear, perhaps because it was used before he came into possession of it.
A report from 2008 stated that Queen Elizabeth had been enthusiastic about the Wii after seeing her grandson, Prince William, playing with it. William received his regular Wii as a gift from this then-girlfriend Kate Middleton. The queen's favorite game was allegedly Wii Bowling.
Meanwhile, the queen has presently resumed her public duties following a period of mourning for the death of her husband, Prince Philip. She was in a video conference call with ambassadors from the countries of Latvia and Côte d'Ivoire.
According to Vanity Fair, Queen Elizabeth wore a diamond-encrusted Cartier rose brooch for this virtual meeting. The jewelry was part of a tiara, which was gift from the Nizam of Hyderabad when she married Philip in 1947. In the 1970s, the queen had the tiara dismantled and had some of the stones be made into a brooch.
