'Prince's paintings' fake, admit auctioneers

Three watercolours sold this week as originals from the brush of the Prince of Wales were probably fakes, the auctioneers who sold them admitted yesterday.

The Fellows and Sons auction house in Birmingham refunded the money of two bidders who had paid more than £20,000 for the three paintings, which were billed as originals signed by the Prince.

The auction had seen fierce bidding from America and Canada pushing the sale price to three times the expected level. But within hours of the sale, doubt was cast on the paintings' provenance by St James's Palace, which said the Prince "does not sell originals".

Stephen Whittaker, managing partner of the auction house, said it was taking the pictures off the market and refunding the purchasers. "We now feel certain that these paintings are probably copies of original works," he said.