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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
John Bett

Queen Elizabeth had a 24-carat gold Nintendo - and loved to play Wii Bowling

Her Majesty The Queen had a golden throne, the crown jewels, and many other high-carat items for Royal engagements and public services alike, but it turns out she was once gifted a bespoke gold item for the home, too. Some were left in shock when they discovered that Queen Elizabeth II was given a 24-carat gold Nintendo Wii, and that she loved to play the bowling game on the popular console.

Her Majesty was given the boujee gaming console as a gift by video game company THQ as part of their BIG Family Games promotion - and they had the bespoke console delivered straight to Buckingham Palace. It does seem like an unusual item for the Queen to have, and maybe that's why it ended up on eBay for £214,000 ($300,000).

It looks very regal (Console Variations)

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In 2008, we reported how the gadget-loving Queen has become hooked on Prince William's new Nintendo Wii games console.

The Princess of Wales had purchased the £200 gadget for Prince William for Christmas - but he ended up sharing it with his grandma.

A Palace source said: "When she saw William playing a game after lunch at Sandringham she thought the Nintendo looked tremendous fun and begged to join in.

"She played a simple ten-pin bowling game and by all accounts was a natural. It was hilarious. William was in fits of laughter. He was enormously impressed at having such a cool gran.

Back in 2009, THQ product manager Danielle Robinson told CBS News: "Big Family Games is the ultimate Wii game to get all family members, from grandparents to young children, playing together.

"But we thought that Her Majesty the Queen wouldn't want to play on any old console, so an extra-special gold one was commissioned," he added. "We hope that she and the rest of the Royal Family enjoy the game!"

But according to the Buckingham Palace website: "For security reasons, the Correspondence Team are unable to accept any unsolicited gifts which are sent to The Queen."

The Queen apparently liked a bit of Wii Bowling (Getty Images)

Maybe that's why the console ended up with Donny Fillerup, from Utrecht in the Netherlands, who bought it back in 2017 after the company who sent it to Her Majesty, THQ, went bust.

IT administrator Donny said he was looking to get rid of the gold console and had listed the item on eBay for a jaw-dropping $300,000.

Pictures of the gaming unit on the eBay listing showed the incredibly metallic-looking console perched on a red cloth.

The eBay listing was titled: "24 Karat Golden Nintendo Wii that was made for Queen Elizabeth the 2nd."

Unfortunately, Buckingham Palace can't accept such gifts (Console Variations)
The bespoke item eventually ended up on eBay (Console Variations)

The console came with one game, 'Big Family Games' and one Wii remote control.

The condition was listed as: "The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended."

Attached to the listing, the description says: "I have documents and emails of its possible authentication.

"All the documentation will be framed."

Speaking previously, Donny said: "My family was never very healthy financially, so money was always needed.

"I never wanted to sell it; however, I was always curious how much someone could give for it.

"I started talking to people about moving forward, and they told me nothing lasts forever.

"I'm the type [of person] who is attached to things in a way that I find it hard to let them go, so selling the Wii will also help me move forward in this respect.

"A good friend who works at Nintendo told me I should sell it for a price which is so high it would never find a buyer.

"He even advised me to start with $500,000.

"I want to be reasonable with buying a place for myself, and $300,000 is the price that I came up with.

"I don't need more and also, this gives more people the opportunity to buy it.

"I am sure it will sell."

You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here

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