When the Queen had fun playing in the mud: Scuffed dresses worn by Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret as they spent hours outdoors at their mother's castle are set to fetch up to £12,000 at auction

At first glance they look like a collection of regular dresses, with scuffs that point to many glorious hours spent playing outside. 

The set of six crumpled garments betray few hints that they are anything special.

But they were once worn by a young Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, when they were cared for by their beloved nanny Clara Knight - and now they are up for sale.

The clothes are collectively set to sell for more than £12,000 at auction house Kerry Taylor Auctions in Bermondsey, South London in June. 

A white cotton baby dress and bonnet worn by Elizabeth is on offer alongside a pink and green floral dress, a red and white scalloped dress and a yellow smocked dress.

A pair of matching blue and pink spotted dresses worn by Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret are also being sold.

The late Queen's childhood clothes look as though they could have inspired the dresses worn by her great-grandchild Princess Charlotte, who is regularly seen in similarly floral and colourful outfits.  

Accompanying the lots is a photo of Princess Elizabeth in the floral dress during a summer holiday at Glamis Castle - the childhood home of her mother Queen Elizabeth. 

A set of dresses once worn by Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret are set to sell for more than £12,000 at auction. Above: A pink and green floral dress worn by Elizabeth in the 1930s. It is tipped to sell for up to £3,000

Young Elizabeth plays with a pony in the grounds of Glamis Castle while wearing the floral dress now on auction

Inspiration? Princess Charlotte has frequently worn dresses that hark back to those worn by her late great-grandmother when she was a young child. Above: Princess Charlotte in a summery blue dress arriving at St Mary's Hospital after the birth of Prince Louis in 2018 (left); attending the Easter Mattins service at Windsor's St George's Chapel last year 

When the young princesses inevitably grew out of their frocks, Clara was allowed to take them home with her.

The girls affectionally called Clara 'Ala' as a nod to Elizabeth's attempts to pronounce her name as a baby.

Clara was originally employed to look after one-month old baby Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, later the Queen Mother, after her birth in 1900.

The devoted Ala looked after her until she turned 11.

In 1926, by now married to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and as yet unaware that he was to be a future king, the Duchess of York brought Ala in to look after Elizabeth, her eldest daughter. 

It was not until the age of ten when her uncle Edward abdicated the throne that Elizabeth knew she would become queen.

Princess Elizabeth (left) and Princess Margaret (middle) adored their nanny Clara (right). They affectionally called her Ala

A red and white cotton dress worn by Princess Elizabeth is in the sale. It is tipped to sell for £1,500

Elizabeth's frock is printed with a scalloped red and white pattern

A white cotton baby dress and bonnet worn by Elizabeth will appear at auction on June 11. It could sell for up to £1,200

These matching dresses were originally worn by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in 1936. They are tipped to sell for up to £5,000

Pink bows sit on the puffed sleeves and neckline of the dress

Both dresses come with matching elasticated bloomers

A yellow silk smocked dress once worn by Princess Elizabeth in 1930. It is tipped to sell for up to £1,500

The yellow dress is from Smith and Co on Sloane Street in London

Young Princess Elizabeth pictured in the floral dress while spending a summer at Glamis Castle

Until then, she was brought up by Clara with no excessive luxuries - Elizabeth was dressed in simple cotton.

The Queen Mother and the two princesses attended Clara's funeral in 1946 - seven years before Elizabeth was crowned Queen. 

Before Clara died at the age of 67, she sent a box of clothes she had been given by the royals to her family in East Sussex.

When the clothes were found again in a box under a bed, Clara's family sent them to Bexhill Museum.

After the museum was renovated, curators sent the clothes back to the Knight family, who then passed them on to antiques collector Daniel Haddon.

'The dresses make Elizabeth seem more human because you can see her as a child and running around getting dirty and playing,' he told MailOnline. 

Clara Knight, the royal nanny, with Princess Elizabeth in 1928. When the young princesses inevitably grew out of their frocks, their beloved nanny was allowed to take the garments home

The future Queen Elizabeth II is pushed in a pram by her nanny Clara Knight and accompanied by her grandfather King George V

'When you look at the dresses and see the repairs you can see that they were stitching them up and using the clothes as much as possible. It makes the Queen relatable.'

Mr Haddon has since loaned the garments to Glamis Castle, where Elizabeth used to spend her summer holidays. 

They were on display as part of the Children of Glamis exhibition last year.

Kerry Taylor Auctions previously sold a midnight blue evening gown worn by Princess Diana in her official portrait by Lord Snowdon.

It went for £220,000.