The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret sent items for auction to a Broadway fund-raiser just weeks before they died, boosting auction proceeds to nearly £6,000.

A tiny Royal Crown Derby sitting duck from the Queen Mother raised £85 and a briefcase donated by Princess Margaret raised £50.

They were just two of 100 items included in Tony and Jill O'Neill's bumper charity auction on June 5. It was held as usual at The Farmers Arms, Kempsey Common, near Worcester in aid of CICRA (Children with Crohns and Colitis). Mrs O'Neill, whose son Gareth has the disease, said: "It was great fun as usual. We were very grateful to both royals. Princess Margaret's briefcase arrived just one week before she died." The tenth annual event has already been arranged for next June at the same venue.