Number plate 1 HRH sells for £113,815

The star of today's DVLA auction held in Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire, 1 HRH sold for £113,815 to a telephone bidder.

The registration had extensive media coverage in the days leading up to the auction and the auction hall had almost as many media people as people attending the auction. Journalists and several TV crews, including one from the BBC and Channel Five's Fifth Gear, were there to document the event - as was I. The tension in the room was high as the bidding increased quickly. Jonny Smith from Fifth Gear even offered £500 at one point if one of the bidders increased his bid. However, the bidder in the room declined. A partership from Scotland had travelled down to bid for the number and had to return empty handy.

Now what I want to know, is who purchased the registration? Was it really someone from the Royal Family as was speculated in the papers? I don't think so but let me know if anyone has any leads.

1 O and 3 S will be sold tomorrow at the same auction. I'll keep you posted as to how much they go for.

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DVLA Auctions 2009

Following the amazing success of the DVLA's Personalised Registration auctions, there will be another six number plate auctions this year.

The dates are as follows :

January 28th, 29th, and 30th 2009 - Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire
March 25th, 26th, and 27th 2009 - Ardencourt Manor Hotel, Claverdon, Warwick
June 3rd, 4th, and 5th 2009 - Wychwood Park, Cheshire
August 5th, 6th, and 7th 2009 - RBS Williams F1 Centre, Wantage, Oxfordshire
October 7th, 8th, and 9th 2009 - Dormy House Hotel, Worcestershire
December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 2009 - Tankersley Manor, Barnsley

It was at Barnsley in November 2008, that businessman Robert Harverson bid £247,653 for the registration 1 RH. The star of the first auction of the year at Whittlebury Hall will no doubt be the rare 1 O plate, which goes under the hammer on Friday 30th January. Many personalised registration experts consider 1 O as one of rarest plates available. The reserve for this has been set at £10,000. Previous plates that have had a £10,000 reserve include 1 OO and 51 NGH, which sold for £197,000 and £254,000 respectively. We'll let you know the outcome of this auction as soon as we have the details.

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