Prince of chat

There was a time in the 17th century when royalty was not welcome in Marlborough and his namesake King Charles I had to send his troops to storm the town.

On Friday there was no need for any troops and Prince Charles walked and talked his way into the affections of local people and he seemed particularly delighted when he was joined part-way through his visit by Camilla Parker-Bowles.

He was in such a chatty mood that the royal aides despaired as his carefully planned timetable quickly went awry, and he arrived at his final destination, the town hall, almost 30 minutes late.

The programme of his visit started to go wrong as soon as he arrived at Marlborough College, where he was met by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sir Maurice Johnson, and dignitaries including the High Sheriff James Arkell and the Devizes MP Michael Ancram and his wife, Jane.

The prince was meant to walk through a double line of students and staff in the main court on his way to unveil a commemorative stone on the site of the former Marlborough Castle where King John stayed while hunting in Savernake Forest.

But instead, Prince Charles stopped and spoke to dozens of the students and college workers.

Among the first of the students he spoke to was his god daughter Alice Lindsay, 16, who is one of the 880 pupils at the £20,000 a year public school.

As soon as he recognised her he gave her a peck on the cheek and stopped for a natter.

One student who was not there to see him, however, was his niece Eugenie, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York. Eugenie and about 200 more students were away in Wales on an outward bound mountaineering course.

Among the staff he spoke to were two with nearly 100 years shared service at the college.

George Johnson, formerly Marlborough's assistant fire chief, worked for the college maintenance department for 51 years.

Prince Charles stopped and spoke with Dennis Twine, one of the catering staff, and asked him if he enjoyed his work and if the food was good.

The prince said: "To come through the entrance into Marlborough College was a great treat for me because I have driven past for many years and had never seen past the faade."

He then unveiled an inscribed Sarsen stone recording that King John had stayed at that very spot.

The Bishop of Ramsbury, the Rt Rev Peter Hullah, blessed the stone and said it was reminder of Marlborough's rich heritage.

On leaving the college, Prince Charles was introduced to Marlborough's Mayor and Mayoress, Coun Graham Francis and his wife Adrienne, who were accompanied by the Mayor of Marlborough in Massachusetts, Dennis Hunt and his wife, Cheryl.

Town crier Alfie Johnson followed by the mace bearers Tony Hamson and Eric Gay then led the mayors with Prince Charles into the town.

Possibly as many as 10,000 cheering children, members of local groups and on-lookers lined the street and the echoes of their welcoming calls bounced back off the buildings.

It was the first official royal visit to the town since Prince Charles' grandparents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, came in 1948 and Marlborough was ready for it.

Prince Charles stopped to admire Marlborough Brownie Amy Ilbury's collection of badges. Amy, nine, said: "He asked me where I would find room if I got any more badges."

When ten-year-old Daisy Newton-Cox, from Marlborough, proffered a posy of flowers the prince took them. Her mother, Dina, said: "He thanked her very much for the flowers. He was very nice."

The royal visitor spent some time with members of the Marlborough Resource Centre and spoke with a group of Gambians from Marlborough's link community of Gunjur.

Muriel Clements, 77, from West Overton, was with a group from the Jubilee Centre when Prince Charles shook her hand.

She said: "I told him it was the second time I had met him because he had come to West Overton for the funeral of Sir Maurice Dorman."

Prince Charles met one of the town's oldest residents, Rose Rawlings, who has lived in The Priory since 1975.

He held Mrs Rawlings' hand as he chatted with her. She said: "He asked me how I was and if I was being looked after properly and I said I was."

Audrey Pye, from Patney, near Devizes, had a surprise for Prince Charles when she called him over.

He asked the childminder the name of the boy with her, Lawrence Gingell, three, and Mrs Pye stretched up and kissed the prince on his cheek.

Prince Charles was taken around the back of the Waitrose supermarket and into the store with the official reason given that he wanted to see the architecture and how the store had been built behind a much older faade.

Once in the store, he proceeded to chat with customers and staff.

Janet Kingstone, who has worked at the store for 20 years, said: "He noticed my badge and asked about the wine specialist training and if we tried and chose the wines ourselves."

As he walked through the store, Prince Charles noticed a shelf of his own brand Duchy Original products and asked about the range the shop stocked. Then it was back to the walkabout in the High Street with Prince Charles continuing to shake hands and chat.

Rebecca Waters, six, from Bourton, near Swindon, who was with her mother, Claire, thrust a bunch of flowers into the prince's hand. Mrs Waters said: "He asked where the flowers had come from and I told him, Waitrose."

Elsie Peck, of Elcot Lane, was surprised when Prince Charles stopped and asked her if she thought Waitrose was an asset to the town.

Mrs Peck said: "I told him it certainly was and he said he had been impressed by the design of the back of the store."

Old soldiers Lawrence Webb, 88, from Chiseldon, Norman Pound, 77, from Marlborough, and John Bower, also from Marlborough, wore their medals that caught the eye of the prince.

Mr Webb said: "I told him that I was wounded twice, at Anzio and in Germany."

A group of youngsters from St Peter's Junior School were thrilled when their cheers caught the attention of the prince and he crossed over to speak to them.

Pupil Jamie Studdert-Kennedy said: "I asked him if he had watched the football the night before and seen England beat Switzerland 2-0 and he said no, he had been too busy."

Arriving at the town hall, Prince Charles was welcomed by the town crier and then heard an extract from the 1204 charter read by David Sherratt.

Prince Charles said: "I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to be with you on this very special occasion on this 800th anniversary for Marlborough.

"Marlborough is one of those very special towns which on so many occasions I have passed through but never had an opportunity to stop and look at."

Prince Charles said he recalled as a child passing through Marlborough with other members of the royal family as they headed from London to Badminton.

Marlborough, he said, was a quintessentially English market town that had managed to stand the test of time. He told the crowd: "Towns do not come much better than this or the welcome from the citizens."

Prince Charles then went in to a reception in the town hall to meet invited guests from local organisations representing clubs and societies, voluntary groups, former mayors including Freeman of the Town Jake Seamer, and representatives from local trades and businesses.

More photographs appear in this week's Gazette & Herald