A Buckingham Palace sentry box given to a Scot who rose to become one of the central figures in the Queen's household is to go under the hammer.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson, who was a descendant of the Royal House of Stewart, received the box in 1994 at his personal request in recognition of his lifetime of service in the British Army along with his terms as both Equerry to HM The Queen and Deputy Master of the Royal Household.

Sir Blair died in 1997.

The box, which was used by soldiers standing guard outside Buckingham Palace, is expected to sell for £5000 to £7000 when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams in London at the end of the month.

Charlie Thomas, director of Bonhams' furniture department, said yesterday: "This is a rare item to come up at auction - I've never come across one before.

"I'm sure they don't give something like this out to anyone so it was a very special gift for Sir Blair.

"It's a fun piece and would be a great talking point."