Crayon drawings that King Charles made of his parents when he was just 5 years old are set to be auctioned for upwards of $12,000

• Portraits King Charles did of his parents in the early 1950s could sell for thousands of dollars.

• Charles was around 5 years old when he drew the sketches of his parents using pencils and crayons.

• Auctioneers say the portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip may fetch upwards of $12,000.

Childhood drawings that King Charles made of his "Mummy" and "Papa," otherwise known to the world as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, will soon be sold for thousands of dollars.

On Friday, two sketches that Charles – then known as Prince Charles – drew of his parents when he was around five years old are being auctioned. They were discovered among a treasure trove of royal memorabilia collected by a British journalist between the 1950s and 1970s, according to Hansons Auctioneers.

The guide price listed for the sketches is between £5,000 to £10,000, or around $6,300 to $12,600, though they could sell for more or less depending on the interest among bidders.

Photographs shared by the auction house on Twitter show the royal portraits are very much like drawings any other five-year-old would make of their parents, although Charles did manage to accurately capture the formal attire often worn by his royal parents.

For his portrait of the Queen, who died in September, Charles used an array of yellows, purples, and pinks to draw his mother wearing a striped dress with a handbag, and accessorizing with long drop earrings.

Meanwhile, his portrait of Philip – who died in 2021 at age 99 – is black and white. It shows Charles' father wearing a formal suit, button-up shirt, and a bow tie.

Both Queen Elizabeth and Philip, who he dubbed "Mummy" and "Papa," are drawn flashing wide smiles.

While the portraits may end up being the most expensive items auctioned on Friday, they are just two of 10 other drawings and letters of Charles' being sold from the collection.

Another is a handwritten letter Charles wrote to Philip, visibly dated March 25, 1954. "Dear Papa, I am longing to see you in the ship," the letter reads in a photograph shared by the auctioneers.

Other items set to be auctioned include drawings the king made of nature, which Charles is still fond of today – although his newer work might be considered somewhat more sophisticated.

Today the king, who has long since swapped out his crayons for watercolor paint, is regarded as one of the most successful living artists in the UK.

Though he modestly refers to himself as an "enthusiastic amateur," Charles made an estimated £2 million from the sales of copies of his watercolors from 1997 to 2016, making him one of the country's best-selling living artists, The Telegraph reported in 2016.

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