THE Prince of Wales appeared happy and relaxed as he strolled around Witley Court in glorious autumn sunshine on Monday.

He was there to fire up the spectacular Perseus and Andromeda fountain, recently restored thanks to a £727,500 Heritage Lottery Fund grant, but the Prince spent more than two hours at the Grade 1 listed Witley Court, happily chatting to school children and Great Witley residents.

He talked at length to Mary Cartwright, aged 77 - who remembered at first-hand the huge fire that destroyed Witley Court in 1937 - before stepping up to the podium to address the 100-strong crowd.

The Prince, president of The Fountain Society, was enjoying his first visit to Witley Court where he was following in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather Edward VII, who visited when he was Prince of Wales.

Prince Charles told the crowd he was "greatly honoured to be here" and called the fountain "remarkable".

"It is enormously encouraging that the grounds and fountain have been gradually brought back to life - there is nothing more rewarding - and there is a great debt of gratitude to everybody who's been involved in the restoration in the last 20 or 30 years."