Queen Elizabeth’s death sparks surge in online sales for royal memorabilia - from Barbie dolls to teabags

The internet is suddenly awash with Queen Elizabeth II memorabilia after the monarch’s death, with sellers rushing to cash in on rare items such as coins, newspapers, dolls and even teabags.

Manufacturers are preparing to phase out items bearing the Queen’s likeness to make way for the arrival of Charles III coronation: when is it, can King Charles abdicate & will there be a national holiday?">King Charles III, sparking a huge demand for Queen Elizabeth souvenirs and a subsequent surge in online sales.

With the Queen’s passing, pieces connected to the iconic Royal have added poignancy - and some are up for sale at or have reached eye-watering prices.

On eBay, a teabag purported to have been used by the Queen appeared on the site shortly after her death on Thursday, selling within hours for a staggering $12,000 (£10,300).

The listing, from a seller in the US, claimed that the teabag had been used by the monarch before being smuggled out of Windsor Castle in 1998.

Other items to have fetched a high price on eBay following the Queen’s death are a prison pardon document signed by the monarch in 1978 for £3,322 and a Minton commemorative Orb trinket dish for for £1,295.

A copy of the Metro newspaper, published the day after the Queen’s death, is up for sale on the same site for £1,000 - granted, the seller does promise to wrap the item in ‘silver coloured wrapping paper’.

On Gumtree, a seller in London is listing his collection of commemorative Queen Elizabeth coins for £70,000.

You can also buy a Queen Elizabeth Barbie doll for £3,000 on the same site, along with two original Queen Elizabeth coronation five shilling coins for £20,000 and a stool claimed to have been used at the Queen’s coronation in 1953 for £650.

Queen Elizabeth II dies - what happens next?

The queen passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle, surrounded by her family, on Thursday, September 8.

The Queen’s coffin made its way from Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral on Monday, September 12 before being transported to London on Tuesday, September 13.

The Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall, with the public invited to pay their respects, from 5pm on Wednesday until the day of her funeral on Monday, September 19.

The day of the Queen’s funeral has since been declared a national bank holiday by Buckingham Palace and the government.