Buy Princess Beatrice's hat - and help Unicef

The Philip Treacy 'octopus' hat that became an internet meme after Princess Beatrice wore it at the royal wedding is to be sold on the auction site eBay for charity.

During her interview with Oprah Winfrey yesterday, Beatrice's mother, Sarah Ferguson, said: "She's putting it up on eBay to auction it for Unicef and for children in crisis."

The bizarre fascinator went viral in the aftermath of the royal wedding, provoking mockery from disbelieving viewers and overshadowing even the plaudits that Kate Middleton received for her Alexander McQueen wedding dress. A Facebook group called 'Princess Beatrice's ridiculous Royal Wedding hat' notched up 137,000 'likes'.

Now charity looks set to benefit in a big way. An item of Treacy headwear can cost £2,000 - and that's not taking into account the inflationary effect of appearing in thousands of hilarious Photoshopped pictures across the internet, including the one above in which the national security team wear the hat in the White House Situation Room while apparently watching the killing of Osama bin Laden. ·