An antique dealer has won a court battle giving her the right to hang Queen Victoria's bloomers from her market stall.

Anne Swift, who runs a store in Portobello Road, London's main antique shopping area, successfully appealed against a ban imposed by local councilors."Could you say Queen Victoria's undergarments have connotations of dirt and shabbiness?" Swift asked in a London magistrates court Tuesday.

Councilors had banned stalls from selling second-hand clothing but allowed Swift to continue as long as she displayed garments flat. Swift deals exclusively in antique textiles.

Appealing the order, Swift told the court she could not sell the valuable Victorian garments that way because they would become creased and damaged.

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Dermot Woolgar, representing the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said the stall was "a shambles" and obstructed the view of other stalls.

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