A pretzel or toilet seat? Beatrice's Royal Wedding hat looks more like a piggy bank as charity bids top £18,000

Last updated at 11:14 AM on 18th May 2011

Who's laughing now? Princess Beatrice is auctioning her much criticised hat, to raise money for Children in Crisis and Unicef

Princess Beatrice faced an astonishing amount of criticism when she wore an unusual pale pink Philip Treacy hat to the Royal Wedding - pictures comparing the hat to prezels, toilet seats and a bowl of spaghetti immediately went viral.

But the fifth in line to the throne is having the last laugh as her decision to auction the hat for charity has attracted a bid of £18,400.

And with four days to go until the auction closes, bids are likely to top £20,000.

All proceeds from the sale will go to the Little Bee Initiative, a charity set up by the Princess to raise money for Children in Crisis and Unicef.

Speaking of the auction, Beatrice graciously said: 'I've been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted.

'It's a wonderful opportunity to raise as much money as possible for two fantastic charities.

'I hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have.'

Philip Treacy added: 'I'm delighted, flattered and touched by HRH Princess Beatrice's decision to donaye the hat to charity.

'I hope that people all over the world will be generous and that this hat will benefit many.'

Dragon's Den's Duncan Bannatyne kicked off the bidding offering £5,000 within minutes of the auction being uploaded onto auction website eBay.

He encouraged others to bid against him, telling the Mail: 'For once I don’t mind if I don’t walk away with the deal.’

Australian children's group The Wiggles soon joined the bidding war offering £17,500.

Big earner: The highest bid for Beatrice's hat so far is £18,400 - with four days to go...

The hat would not fit in with the TV personalities' red, yellow and blue colour scheme - but might be a good prop for their song about cold spaghetti.

Blue Wiggle Anthony Field said: 'We wear some pretty crazy costumes on stage, but this hat beats them all - it could bring about an Australian republic all by itself!

'When we heard about the auction we knew we had to bid - we're ambassadors for Unicef and we think it's great that Princess Beatrice has chosen to support children in great need.'

Duncan Bannatyne mocked up his own image of himself wearing the hat

Mocked-up photos of Beatrice's hat immediately went viral

Mocked-up: Spoof images of Beatrice wearing the hat immediately went viral and Duncan Bannatyne uploaded his own image of himself wearing the hat

The British cricket team will be glad The Wiggles were outbid, as they joked they would donate the had to the Australian cricket captain to use in the next Ashes series against England.

'We might give it to Michael Clarke to wear when he bats against the Poms next time - it would certainly distract the bowler,' Field said.