The thing about auctions is that they value the object as much as the lifespan of the story attached to it. They reward history and position. That holds true for everything from artwork created centuries ago to something as curious as a lock of hair. How else does one explain why a lock cut in the 1960s from a British royal would fetch an extravagant five-figure sum in 2025, more than six decades later?
This particular lock came from a teenage Prince Charles, and now that he has become King Charles III, the hefty price tag suddenly feels understandable. Royal memorabilia inspires a kind of frenzy among collectors who would give their own hair, and more, to secure it. A lock of hair is an unusually personal object. It connects you to the monarch in a way no watch, painting, or artifact ever could. Those items may belong to the King, but they never physically touched him. His hair did. It is a literal extension of his being, clipped from the head of the young prince by royal hairdresser George Crisp.
The hair is part of the “King Charles III Childhood Collection,” offered by Paul Fraser Collectibles for about $10,000. And while this is about acquiring an intimate artifact of the current British monarch, it is also tied to Crisp, the connecting thread across four reigns, who cut royal hair from 1929 to 1971. He worked on King George VI’s hair and beard, as well as the Queen’s sons Charles, Andrew, and Edward, and he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order. That pedigree makes the small lock that much more special.
The auction house described the first-of-its-kind, slightly surreal offering as an “impossible to recreate” item. Paul Fraser, the founder of Paul Fraser Collectibles, told The Mirror, “We acquired it at auction in 2017. We know of no other genuine lock of Charles’ hair, or even single strands, that have ever been offered for sale at auction before.” Beyond the hair, the collection also includes a personally written Christmas card from Charles to Crisp, likely from the same decade. His signature is described as “clear and handsome,” and noticeably different from his adult scrawl.
For perspective, a lock of John Lennon’s hair once sold for almost $35,000, while a baseball-sized clump of Elvis Presley’s hair has changed hands for a staggering $120,000.
Let’s see if King Charles’s lock of hair, with all its royal provenance, locks in the highest bid.
