He is a keen amateur painter whose artworks have raised millions for charity. But even King Charles might baulk at the price of a £160 painting kit on sale at Sandringham, his Norfolk estate.
The limited edition watercolour set contains just one 2B pencil, two synthetic sable brushes, a cold pressed watercolour paper pad, a ceramic mixing palette, a putty rubber and a tiny bit of sponge, as well as 12 paint tubes.
Art suppliers Winsor & Newton describe it as an ‘exclusively curated, limited edition set in a quality wooden keepsake box’.
But identical kits of its watercolours without the exclusive Sandringham branding are on sale online for less than half the price.
Canny shoppers can also pay far less for similar painting kits at the discount Range store eight miles away in King’s Lynn. The shop – where the Princess of Wales was spotted shopping for art supplies for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – has a set with 12 paint tubes, three brushes and a mixing knife for just £4.99.
The King describes himself as an ‘enthusiastic amateur painter’, although he never sells his original pictures
The limited edition watercolour set contains just one 2B pencil, two synthetic sable brushes, a cold pressed watercolour paper pad, a ceramic mixing palette, a putty rubber and a tiny bit of sponge, as well as 12 paint tubes
The new kit is among items featuring the King’s paintings of Sandringham and Norfolk scenes on sale in the estate’s gift shop and on its website.
Any profits are ploughed back into the running of Sandringham, where the Royal Family gather every Christmas.
The King describes himself as an ‘enthusiastic amateur painter’, although he never sells his original pictures.
He has said painting ‘transports me into another dimension which refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can’t reach’.
A limited number of signed and framed prints of the King’s Sandringham House painting are currently on sale in upmarket London galleries for more than £6,000 each.
It was revealed in 2016 that sales of his prints, costing up to £15,000 each, have raised more than £6 million.
The King has not personally profited from the sales, with all the money going to his charitable foundation.
£160 painting kit on sale at Sandringham, the King’s Norfolk estate
The £8.99 crayon set for sale at the Sandringham House gift shop
The range of biscuits and confectionery for sale at the Sandringham gift shop emblazoned with the King’s picture of Sandringham House
