A beaming Prince of Wales appeared in high spirits as he arrived at a royal visit in his vintage Aston Martin DB36 today in South Wales.
Prince Charles, 71, looked overjoyed as he arrived at the new Aston Martin Lagonda factory in St Athan today.
It comes amid a busy day of engagements for the royal, who also visited the CAF train factory, a Marie Curie hospice and paid a visit to the British Airways Maintenance Centre during a whirlwind afternoon.
Later, the royal will meet with local residents and businesses impacted by recent flooding in the town of Pontypridd, and meet those involved in the rescue and support effort.
Prince Charles, 71, arrived in style for a royal visit today as he drove his vintage Aston Martin DB36 to visit a new Aston Martin Lagonda factory in St Athan
Earlier today, the royal had taken to the driving seat of a partly constructed train at the CAF factory in Newport
Prince Charles appeared in high spirits as he made a visit to CAF train factory in Newport in order to open the facility earlier today
The royal donned a smart grey suit for his busy day, adding a pop of colour with a playful pink tie covered in a pattern of white elephants and cheetahs.
Earlier this morning, he appeared in high spirits as he arrived at the CAF factory, which is owned by the leading Spanish train maker.
The royal could be seen laughing and joking with staff during a tour of the factory as they spoke through the manufacturing process, and even climbed aboard a carriage.
The factory builds and test trains including diesel, electric, high-speed and trams.
Prince Charles met with local residents in the town of Pontypridd who had been impacted by recent flooding
The royal could be seen shaking hands with local people and appeared in high spirits despite the grey weather
Prince Charles shared a joke as he met with local ambulance crews during his visit to the town earlier today
The royal met with flood victims who had been severely impacted by Storm Dennis at the event in Pontypridd
The royal could be seen shaking hands with local people and offering support to emergency service workers as he visited the town
He met with local residents and emergency service workers at a local cafe in the town of Pontypridd
Prince Charles met with some of the 220 employees, while they talked the royal through the production process.
The royal could be seen laughing and joking with employees as they spoke about the manufacturing process within the factory.
Later, he climbed aboard a partially completed train and studied various parts during the royal visit.
The royal, who officially opened the factory during his visit today, also attended a reception for staff and local dignitaries in order to celebrate.
Prince Charles visited the British Airways Maintenance Centre during his busy day of royal engagements in South Wales
As part of his visit to the British Airways centre, he was welcomed aboard one of the brand’s fleet by BA Customer Effectiveness Executive, Julia Montague
Julia offered the royal and British Airways CEO Alex Cruz a tour of the plane while they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the company
Prince Charles spoke with staff during a visit to the Marie Curie hospice in Cardiff and the Vale in Wales today
The royal could be seen sharing a smile with patient 97-year-old Maureen Russell, and affectionately held her hand during the discussion
At another stage, the royal appeared to listen intently while speaking with Maureen from her bed in the Marie Curie hospice
Prince Charles could be seen delicately holding Maureen’s hand throughout their conversation today
During the visit, the Prince of Wales unveiled a plaque alongside CAF’s chief executive Andres Arizkorreta.
The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility which was completed in 2017, after CAF ploughed £32million into the plant at the Celtic Business Park in Newport, a former steelworks that is not far from the steel hub of Port Talbot.
He arrived at the Aston Martin factory in his vintage car, and could be seen beaming as he disembarked the vehicle.
Prince Charles was given a tour of the new facility during his visit to St Athan today and given the chance to test drive the new Aston Martin DBX during his visit.
The royal appeared in high spirits during his visit to the hospice earlier today, when he met with staff and community fundraisers
Prince Charles seemed particularly tickled by the gift from the community fundraisers, Hannah Leckie and Hilary James
The royal was left chuckling when he received a Marie Curie yellow hat from two cheerful community fundraisers, Hannah Leckie and Hilary James
He later gave a speech at a reception at the event, before unveiling a special plaque for the new facility.
The royal was also given the honour of placing the Aston Martin logo on the new DBX during his visit to the factory.
He went on to visit the British Airways Maintenance Centre in Cardiff, where staff gave him a tour a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plane, which is one of the more fuel-efficient aircraft being added to the carrier’s fleet.
The prince saw how single-use plastics on board the plane are being replaced by alternatives.
The royal was given the honour of placing the Aston Martin logo on the new DBX during his visit to the factory
The royal could be seen delicately placing the logo on the company’s new DBX car, after test driving the car
The royal received assistance while placing the logo on the brand new car at the new factory today
Prince Charles gave a speech at a reception at the event, before unveiling a special plaque for the new
He also learned how the airline are adapting to be more environmentally friendly, such as replacing each first-class duvet with one created from recycled plastic bottles.
BA apprentices showed Charles the inside of one of the Dreamliner’s engines, and explained that work has started on a project to convert household waste to sustainable jet fuel.
As the event came to a close, HRH unveiled a plaque created from recycled aircraft parts to mark the visit.
The prince opened the engineering base in 1993, and the facility currently employs 550 local people.
As well as the vintage vehicle, Prince Charles tested out the new Aston Martin DBX during his visit
The royal could be seen sharing a smile with staff at the factory after test driving the brand’s new SUV
Behind the wheel! Prince Charles took to the driving seat while at the facility as he testdrove the new Aston Martin SUV
The royal appeared overjoyed as he drove the brand’s first SUV as part of his royal visit today in St Athan
Prince Charles appeared enthralled as he spoke with Marek Reichman, Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin
The men spoke as Prince Charles prepared to test drive the new Aston Martin SUV at the new facility in South Wales
Prince Charles appeared excited as he chatted with staff at the Aston Martin factory before test driving the company’s first SUV
BA chairman and chief executive Alex Cruz, who led the tour, said: ‘It has been an honour to showcase our work in this area to His Royal Highness today.
‘Every decision we make at British Airways now starts with a simple question: what does that mean for our sustainability aspiration?
‘We’re now offsetting carbon emissions on all our flights within the UK, and were the first airline group to commit to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
‘We’ve got a lot of work to do, but keeping an eye on the detail as well as the bigger picture is the only way to get there.’
In the driving seat! Prince Charles arrived in style at the royal visit as he rode in his vintage vehicle to the factory
The Prince of Wales drove himself between royal visits today in his vintage Aston Martin car (pictured)
The royal’s Aston Martin bore many of the original features, including the mascot of the Aston Martin DB6
The royal appeared delighted and could be seen beaming as he arrived at the factory in St Athan earlier on today
The airline’s director of communications and corporate responsibility, Louise Evans, said: ‘From new, quieter and more fuel-efficient aircraft to sustainable swizzle sticks that eliminate the use of single- use plastic, we’re carrying out a huge transformation of the way we fly.
‘His Royal Highness opened this engineering base 26 years ago, and we were delighted to welcome him back so he can see for himself the steps we are taking to a sustainable future.’
The royal also visited a local Marie Curie hospice in the area, and was seen speaking with patient Maureen Russel, 97.
He affectionately held Maureen’s hand while the two chatted, before Charles could be seen sharing a laugh with the patient.
The royal was helped by a member of his entourage as he prepared to leave the facility this morning
The Prince of Wales unveiled a plaque and gave a speech during the reception at the factory earlier today
He was joined by the chief executive of the company, Andres Arizkorreta, on stage as he unveiled the plaque
The royal appeared in high spirits as he spoke during a reception at the CAF train factory in Newport earlier today
The royal was applauded as he took to the stage to unveil a plaque and officially open the facility in South Wales
Prince Charles appeared in high spirits during the visit today, which kickstarts a busy day for the royal
Prince Charles appeared delighted as he took to the drivers seat of a train currently undergoing construction at the facility
In the driving seat! The royal appeared to enjoy a tour of the facility, which involved him testing out the carriage of one of the trains
The royal could be seen smiling as he studied the parts of the manufacturing process during the visit today
Staff talked Prince Charles through the production process during his visit to the factory, with the royal climbing aboard a train currently under construction
He could be seen sharing a laugh with staff at the factory as he was offered a tour of the facility earlier today
The royal could be seen beaming and sharing jokes with employees whom he met at the factory today
It comes amid a busy week for Prince Charles, who yesterday presented the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes at Buckingham Palace.
Earlier on this week, the royal donned a hard hat and high-viz jacket to meet some of the skilled costume and prop-makers from the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) during a visit to Warwickshire.
And last week, he hosted The Prince’s Trust Invest in Futures Gala at Kensington Palace.
He appeared in excellent spirits as he welcomed stars including Claudia Winkleman and Rob Brydon to the gala, which is the largest fundraising event of The Prince’s Trust, generating vital funds to support thousands of young people into jobs, education or training.
The royal donned a simple grey suit with a playful pink tie for the royal visit to the factory in South Wales today
Prince Charles could be seen chatting with staff as they talked through the production process at the facility
The royal appeared in high spirits as he shared a joke with one factory worker during the visit earlier today
Prince Charles could be seen sharing a giggle with a factory worker while making the royal visit earlier today