The now notorious fascinator has already attracted a whopping opening bid of £5,000 which was put forward by Dragon’s Den businessman, Duncan Bannatyne. All money collected from the sale of royal wedding hat will be divided between two children’s charities, Unicef and Children in Crisis.

To publicise the auction, the two charities involved have released a mock-up of entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne wearing the recognisable fascinator.

Princess Beatrice received wide spread criticism for her choice of headwear when she stepped out at the wedding of her cousin, Prince William, to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29^th. The one-of-a-kind nude giant bow fascinator was mocked by many fashion commentators and members of the public.

The headpiece made such an impression that two Facebook pages have been created in its honour one of which, Princess Beatrice’s Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hat, has attracted over 136,000 “likes” on the social networking site.

The auction is now live and will continue to run for nine days in total.

• Don’t wear white – this is reserved for the bride only which brings us onto our next point

• Don’t upstage the bride – Nothing too flashy or flesh baring, remember you may be expected to attend a church service and mingle with elderly relatives; boob tubes and miniskirts don’t cut it in either situation.

• Keep handbags small filled only with the necessities. Remember you will be carrying it around all day, a heavy handbag dragging you down may impinge upon your ability to sip champagne and nibble canapés which is never a good thing.

• If you’re attending a country wedding during the warmer months, the likelihood is you’ll have drinks outdoors, in which case you should keep heels to a minimum. Avoid mud pronged stilettos and stick to small kitten heels or even flats. It’s worth taking along a pair of glamorous flip flops for dancing later, by this stage no one will notice and you’ll be able to dance the night away instead of staggering home in pain.

• City weddings tend to be more formal. A key trend this year is the trouser suit with wide leg trousers of palazzo pants, team with a pair if killer heels and silk camisole and you’ve got yourself one slick little number.

• Avoid black or too many sequins at the day ceremony, especially if it’s a summer wedding. However black and sequins are perfectly acceptable for the evening party.

• Ditch the pashmina. Not many people can wear one convincingly and instead end up looking more like Old Mother Hubbard shivering in the corner. Instead opt for a cute cardigan or lightweight jacket or even a ¾ sleeve vintage tea-dress for a kooky Sienne Miller look.

• Weddings are a celebration so embrace the ethos of the day by adding a flash of bright colour to your outfit. If you’re brave go all out and don a shocking fuchsia dress, if you’re more of a shrinking violet add a splash of colour with an attention grabbing corsage or bright shoes or handbag.

• Avoid complicated outfits. Forget the corset which takes half an hour to fit, you need something you can slip on quickly and feel comfortable in all day as weddings are often very lengthy affairs. If you’re travelling from afar and get delayed on your way to the wedding, you may need to do a quick change at the hotel or even in the back of the car so ensure you choose an outfit you can throw on easily.