Edinburgh, May 3 :

The three elderly ladies bent together over the glass cabinet in Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel and peered closely at the array of baubles laid out before them.

“Look at the pearls,’’ said one, indicating a graceful five-strand necklace gleaming under the spotlights. “Lovely,’’ whispered another. “Just lovely.’’ It ought to be; it was worn by Princess Margaret and is worth about GBP20,000, and if they had the means and were so minded, the Edinburgh ladies could take themselves to London next month where the jewellery is to be auctioned in a somewhat controversial sale to help pay inheritance tax on the late princess’s estate.

Edinburgh is the first stop on a global tour of the items before they are sold by Christie’s on June 13 and 14 under instruction from the princess’s son, Viscount Linley. In all, some 800 items will be auctioned, ranging from jewellery and silverware to furniture and works of art. The jewellery alone is expected to fetch between GBP2m and GBP3m. By mid-afternoon some 1,000 people had trooped through the exhibition area. Helen Molesworth, of Christie’s, who spent some six months researching each piece, said people were fascinated by the stories behind them. “It’s personal, it’s family, it’s glamorous,’’ she said. “It is the story of a life of a person who happened to be beautiful, glamorous and the sister of the Queen.’’

For those who turned up on Tuesday, the only criticism was that they would have liked to have seen more. “It’s a bit of history, isn’t it?’’ said Nan Miller, 67. “I’ve always loved the royal family, so it’s a treat for me.’’