An Elizabethan painting owned by King Charles III personal decorator Robert Kime has sold for 50 times its estimate in a an auction that raised nearly £10 million.

The sale of his "iconic" collection of paintings, furniture and other "beautiful things" was expected to fetch more than £1.5million at auction but eventually went for a staggering £9.6 million.

The highlight was a ‘Portrait of a man with a pickaxe and a spade in a landscape’, which went for £500,200 against an estimate of just £10,000-£15,000.

The English School 16th century oil painting was highly sought after and finally sold to a US buyer on the telephone

Another painting by King Charles' cousin Lady Chatto, Sarah Armstrong Jones, fetched 25 times its estimate, selling for £5,040 against an estimate of £200-£400.

Interior designer Robert Kime, who died last August aged 76, worked on major royal projects including the redecoration of both Clarence House and Highgrove for the monarch.

Kime - known as a ‘great assembler of beautiful things" - also completed commissions for several celebrities including Duran Duran’s John Taylor.

His personal collection from his homes in London and Provence of more than 750 lots was sold during a three-day sale at Drewatts auction house, Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berks.

Among the highlights was a watercolour and pencil landscape by Eric Ravilious, titled New Year Snow, estimated to fetch between £100,000 and £150,000 which sold to a private buyer on the telephone for £350, 200.

A 19th century carved marble grand tour figure after the antique depicted Artemis (or Diana) as a deity of nature, protection and fertility.

Thought to be Italian or French, it sold to an international buyer in the room for £187,700 against a pre-sale estimate of £6,000-£10,000

An unusual addition to the collection was a monumental pair of 'Irish elk' or giant deer antlers (Megaloceros Giganteus) from the Pleistocene period (circa 10,500BC to 8,000BC), which were housed at Robert’s Provencal home, La Gonette.

The pair sold for £93,950 against a pre-sale estimate of £9,000-£10,000.

King Charles III said of Kime: “You often hear of people who are said to have ‘a good eye’, but Robert Kime’s must surely be one of the best.’’

Will Richards, Deputy Chairman of Dreweatts, said: “Robert Kime’s unique eye and aesthetic sensibility led him to become one of the leading design figures of his generation.

"Dreweatts is honoured to be entrusted with the sale of Robert Kime’s personal collection from his family homes.

Kime began selling antiques while studying Medieval History as an undergraduate at Oxford.

His "eye" drew the Royal Family and collectors from around the world to ask for his help in building their collections and designing their homes.

Bidding was extremely competitive as thousands of bidders from Europe, Asia and the United States competed to attain a precious work from Kime’s meticulously curated collection, amassed over his lifetime.

The collection, from Robert’s homes in London and Provence spanned Middle Eastern art, including textiles and antiquities, European antiquities, modern art, ceramics, garden pieces, architecture and interesting objects from around the world and resulted in a 100% sell rate known as a ‘white glove sale’.