By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK
If you have never had a brush with royalty, now's your chance.
A print of a watercolour painting by Prince Charles will be auctioned in Auckland on Saturday to raise money for charity.
The lithograph is one of 10 prints of an original watercolour painted by the Prince in 1998
at his Gloucestershire country estate, Highgrove.
It depicts a church steeple rising above an English countryside in shades of green, blue and brown. Each print carries his signature.
A bid of $10,000 has already been registered for the painting, to be auctioned by the international youth charity the Prince of Wales Trust.
"He's a very keen painter indeed and a watercolourist of some merit," said charity trustee Sue Dalison Ryan, a friend of Prince Charles.
"He takes a paintbox everywhere ... This piece is a wonderful example of English painting," she said.
Mrs Dalison Ryan, a Kerikeri artist, asked the Prince to donate one of his paintings after sharing tea with him at Highgrove in August.
The pair first met at a Navy cocktail party more than 25 years ago.
A branch of the Prince of Wales Trust, which aims to help unemployed youth to find jobs, was set up in New Zealand five years ago and the auction is its first big fundraiser.
More than 400 people, including Prime Minister Helen Clark, will have the opportunity to bid for 57 items during the auction.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has donated a signed bottle of House of Commons whisky and a sketch of Mt Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary is also on sale.
Other auction items include a VW Beetle and a weekend at the Waiouru Army Camp.
Event manager Tim Kay said the charity hoped to raise at least $75,000 to cover job skill course costs for youths.
The Prince of Wales Trust, which will be re-named the Prince's Trust this weekend, was established in Britain 25 years ago.
Last year, the NZ branch provided 10-week courses for 80 youths, who trained fulltime before looking for work.
