eBay fraudster claimed he was selling queen’s walking stick days after her death | UK News

A fraudster claimed he was selling a walking stick belonging to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Dru Marshall tried to sell the item on auction site eBay and claimed he had been a footman at Windsor Castle.

He listed the fake walking stick on September 16 of last year, just eight days after the Queen died.

Marshall, 26, claimed in the listing he had permission from the royal household to sell her stick, and the proceeds from the sale would go to charity.

Bidding reached £540 before the auction attracted police attention and Marshall’s home in Southampton, Hampshire, was raided.

Officers found a hoard of monarchy memorabilia including a large framed portrait of the late queen and a photo book of Princess Diana.

Marshall denied fraud by false representation at Southampton magistrates court but was convicted at the end of his trial.

Prosecutor Laura Jenking-Rees told the court: ‘He was being dishonest – he did not have the Queen’s walking stick.

‘He was not a footman and he was not raising money for charity.’

The auction attracted five bidders, one of whom demanded proof the item was genuine.

When Marshall failed to respond, the royal protection branch of the Metropolitan Police were alerted and officers raided his home.

Marshall’s laptop was seized and officers discovered his search history included how to remove an eBay advertisement and ‘good solicitors Southampton’.

When arrested and interviewed he told officers his eBay account had been hacked by an anti-royalist friend in Spain.

Giving evidence in court, Marshall claimed he had never intended to scam anyone and was simply engaging in a social experiment.

He told the hearing: ‘I consider myself to be a royalist and just wanted to see what would happen.

‘It was not about money or finances. It was curiosity. Bad curiosity but curiosity nonetheless.

‘I wanted to see how seriously it would be taken by people viewing the post.’

He went on to concede his actions were ‘stupidity at its finest’, adding: ‘It feels like a monstrous betrayal of the house of Windsor. It’s something I deeply regret.’

Convicting Marshall, the presiding magistrate told him: ‘We did not find anything you said in court today credible.’

Marshall, now of Romsey, will be sentenced in January.

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