The late Queen's unopened gift she received as a child – and no one knows what's inside

Growing up in the royal family, the late Queen had every child's dream with dozens of toys, dollhouses and gifts. However, one mysterious parcel was never opened.

The Royal Collection Trust shared the item on its social media pages, highlighting how the object was found in the wine cellar of Queen Mary's Dolls' House, which was designed for Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Mary.

In a caption, it explained: "Tucked under a shelf in the wine cellar of Queen Mary's Dolls' House is this little unopened package, addressed: To Her Majesty The Queen, Buckingham Palace. We've never opened the parcel so don't know what it may contain!"

The post showed off the mysterious parcel, as well as the wine cellar in the dolls' house where it was discovered.

Royal fans were intrigued by the post, as one commented: "I would hope it's another fabulous miniature book for the dolls' house library, but then I am dedicated to old miniature books!"

A second mused: "Perhaps it contains one of Queen Mary's favourite scents," while a third added: "I can't even spot it in the picture. I'm hoping that's because it's out where you can take the picture." Many others suggested scanning or X-raying the parcel to discover what was inside.

The late Queen's toys

As she grew up, one of the late Queen's favourite childhood toys was her Wendy house, which was gifted by the people of Wales when she was aged just six.

Inside, the structure had a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom, and it even featured hot and cold running water, electricity and a heated towel rail. For entertainment, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were treated to a bookshelf complete with the works of Beatrix Potter, a mini radio and a tea set for playing tea parties.

Designed by architect Edmund Willmott and titled 'Y Bwthyn Bach' ('The Little House'), it measured 24 feet long and five feet high, and photos show construction workers perfecting the tiny cottage with a thatched roof.

It has been passed down through the generations, with the late Queen's granddaughter Princess Beatrice playing in it as a child. "It's the most glamorous Wendy house ever but it's really beautiful and what you're seeing now is after a year's renovation process," she told Andrew Marr in the documentary The Diamond Queen.

Even in her later years, the late monarch enjoyed a toy, and around the turn of the new millennium she was presented with a teddy bear that she named Haddington. She became very fond of the bear, and whenever she travelled to her Scottish residence, she had specific requests for how the toy should be displayed.

Emma Stead, the curator at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, explained: "The Queen was given him as a gift and after that she asked that whenever she arrived here, he be placed in that particular position on the sofa awaiting her arrival. She had a few personal objects that she liked to be placed quite precisely."

This wasn't the only item that the late Queen wanted to be displayed in certain ways. Emma added: "Another one is the pin cushion just to the left of the fireplace, which was presented to her when she attended the Commonwealth Games in 1986 in Edinburgh, and it has all the badges of the represented countries who took part."