THE Prince of Wales learned about a majestic yew believed to be thousands of years old during a visit to a rural village near Abergele.

The tree, located at St Digain Church in Llangernyw, has a 10-metre girth and was designated as one of the 50 ‘Great British Trees’ in 2002, to mark the Queen’s Jubilee.

Prince Charles received a warm welcome at the church, dedicated to Saint Gwengo, by children from Ysgol Bro Cernyw.

The Prince met with the Rev Gwenda Cooper and the Bishop of St Asaph, Gregory Cameron and learned about the history of the yew, believed to be dated between 4,000 to 5,000 years' old.

He also met quilt-makers Anne Hughes and Susan Rimmer, admired their work and enjoyed a song performed for him by pupils from Ysgol Bro Cernyw.

Mary Hindley, who has been a warden at the church for 10 years, served Prince Charles with a cup of tea.

Mary said: "It was wonderful to serve him the cup of tea. He said to me 'has it got honey in?'. I knew he liked that, so I said I had heard on the grapevine he liked it that way.

"I have been a widow for 14 years. Prince Charles is very handsome. It is a great honour to meet him. I've always been with this church."

The heir to the throne visited St Digain as part of a week-long visit to Wales. Earlier in the day, he toured Ysgol San Sior Primary school and Bodysgalen Hall.

Anne and Susan, who belong to a quilting group in Llangernyw, were delighted the Royal visitor took such an interest in their work.

Speaking about one of the quilts, Anne said: "I'm a 'quiltaholic'! This one took me 12-months. I am amazed that he [Prince Charles] was so interested."

Susan added: "He wanted to know where we got the fabric from. It meant a lot to us that he showed so much interest. Very surprised. Apparently he is very interested in rural crafts, so I think that is why he spent the time with us."

Anne said: "I thought he would just say 'hello' and 'oh yeah'.

Added on to the schedule today was a visit to The Old Stag pub, located just around the corner from the church, where the Prince pulled a pint.

Owners Darryl and Maria Flynn had written to Prince Charles a few days ago and asked him to visit. Maria laughed as when introducing her son to Prince Charles, she accidentally called him 'Gin!'.

Maria said: "It absolutely meant the world to us. We were honoured and privileged that he chose to come to our pub. He was such a warm, genuine man. I was very nervous initially but then put completely at ease when I met him."

Darryl said: "He asked about the food. It is brilliant for the pub, brilliant for Llangernyw and it is all about the tree."

Asked how they found the Prince, Maria replied: "He was absolutely natural. I got the feeling he wanted to stay longer as well."

Darryl said: "What a wonderful man! He jumped behind the bar, pulled a pint!"