Queen Victoria’s rare ‘galloping gig’ pushchair up for sale

A “galloping gig” pushchair used by Queen Victoria’s grandchildren is up for auction.

The rare, late 19th century piece is described as embodying both “the playful spirit of the Victorian era and the private world of the royal family”.

Designed to resemble a horse-drawn carriage, it features a child’s wicker seat and a pair of dappled toy horses which gallop up and down when the gig is pushed along.

Queen Victoria spent time with her grandchildren at her summer retreat, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight (Alamy/PA)

Mark Yuan Richards, Woolley and Wallis furniture specialist, said: “This rare pushchair presents collectors and admirers of royal history with a remarkable opportunity to acquire an object once owned by Queen Victoria herself.

“It embodies the playful spirit of the Victorian era and the private world of the royal family and we therefore anticipate much interest from the UK and abroad.”

The pushchair was used at Victoria’s summer residence Osborne House on the Isle of Wight where the Queen would retreat each year with her children and grandchildren for a more relaxed life away from court.

The pushchair is believed to have been built by renowned toymakers George and Joseph Lines, who specialised in producing high-quality rocking horses, carriages and mechanical toys and began trading in 1880.

A photograph in the Royal Collection from 1899 also shows Victoria’s great-grandsons ‘David’ – the future Edward VIII – and ‘Bertie’, later George VI, playing in a similar gig outside a cottage on the Windsor estate.

The pushchair, which is expected to fetch between £1,200 and £1,800, is up for auction in Woolley and Wallis’s furniture, works of art and clocks sale which runs from October 1-2.