LONDON -- A Thai princess stripped the shelves and rang up around $40,000 through the tills of an English antiques center during an eight-hour shopping spree, storeowners said.
Antiques dealers in Battlesbridge, in the southeastern English county of Essex, said Royal Consort Princess Srirasmi of Thailand scooped up hundreds of items and paid for them -- on the spot and in cash – during her visit on Friday.
'Masses and masses of it'
The princess purchased a variety of antiques, including china tea sets, silverware and oil lamps.
“The princess was just choosing things that took her fancy. ... Very decorative items -- but masses and masses of it,” another dealer said.
The princess visited the antiques market accompanied by the Thai Ambassador Kitti Wasinondh, 15 assistants and the royal physician.
Local shopkeepers said they had no prior warning, although a few months ago they were told that a group of VIPs might be visiting in the near future.
“Other celebrities come here from time to time but, yes, that was a bit of an exception,” one local businessman said.
Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com
By the time the princess and her entourage swept out of Battlesbridge in blacked-out limousines, most of the shelves in the antiques market were left bare, witnesses said.
Most of the items Princess Srirasmi purchased were priced between $15 and $60, local business owners said.
More on this story from NBC News' UK partner ITV News
More world stories from NBC News:
- Debt-choked Greece aims to sell off islands, marinas, more
- Abu Hamza, 4 others tied to al-Qaida arrive in US
- New role for rescued bear cubs
- Americans travel to Pakistan to protest US drone strikes
- Court: Kenyans tortured by colonial regime can sue UK
- Tourists fined as Rome declares 'War on the Sandwich'
- Stay informed: Sign up for our newsletter
