By Charlotte Wace, Royal Correspondent For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 18:20 EDT, 23 November 2019 | Updated: 18:20 EDT, 23 November 2019

Prince Charles and Camilla signed up a young admirer in New Zealand to their fan club yesterday by autographing the plaster cast on his broken arm.

Royals usually avoid giving autographs but the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall were happy to waive protocol this time. 

Charles, 71, underlined his name on the red bandage covering the boy's cast while Camilla, 72, wrote hers underneath a sketch of the Union Flag.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall sign a young boy's plaster cast during their visit to Lincoln Farmers Market in Christchurch in New Zealand yesterday

Charles, 71, underlined his name on the red bandage covering the boy's cast while Camilla, 72, wrote hers underneath a sketch of the Union Flag

The Royal couple were visiting the Lincoln Farmers and Craft Market in Christchurch as they continued their eight-day tour of the country.

Despite the deepening crisis surrounding Prince Andrew, which has threatened to overshadow the visit, the Duke and Duchess smiled and laughed as they talked to wellwishers in the crowd.

They later took a helicopter ride north to the coastal town of Kaikoura, which was devastated by an earthquake in 2016. 

'I'm joining the line again,' one of the town's coastguards admitted as she went for a second handshake, to which Charles jokingly replied: 'You must be a glutton for punishment.'

Charles also chatted with motorcyclists taking part in the White Ribbon Ride, which raises awareness of domestic violence, before he and Camilla headed to the Solomon Islands today. 

They will then return home to face the storm surrounding Andrew and his association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

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