Janet Williams with her extensive royal memorabilia collection. Picture: KIRK GILMOUR
Royal memorabilia queen Janet Williams has agreed to sell her decades-old collection to a buyer in the Hunter Valley.
After seven days of solid bubble-wrapping, Mrs Williams and her husband, Philip, have almost finished packing the collection, which spans six generations of the Windsor family and is thought the world's largest privately owned assortment of British royal memorabilia.
Thousands of items - plates, thimbles, teaspoons, figurines and teacups - will be transported to the Hunter Valley in two trucks, one for delicate items.
Mrs Williams, whose daughter gave birth to triplets two-and-a-half years ago, said she planned to spend her days "travelling, doing cruises, enjoying the grandkids".
"The collection was always stopping us from doing those things," she said.
"It's sad but once I got into the swing of [packing] ... I'm looking forward to it."
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For 10 of the 30 years she spent collecting, Mrs Williams hosted coachloads of visitors to her Woonona home - Janet's Royalty Rooms - before announcing she wanted to get out of the collecting game.
She sought an Illawarra buyer - including Wollongong City Council - in the hope the region would retain a tourism drawcard, but agreed to sell to a Hunter enthusiast after no local interest.