Prince Charles takes to a monastery - without Camilla

NEWLYWED Prince Charles has turned up in Romania where he is on a three-day private visit to a monastery without his wife.

An Austrian television channel showed footage of the prince as he arrived in Horezu, a small town in southern Romania famous for its pottery crafts.

The Prince of Wales was seen looking relaxed and wearing a green sweater, with his jacket under his arm and holding a stick as he walked through the town, originally built in 1697.

The channel said Prince Charles had arrived alone on a private visit to the monasteries in the Valcea area, and added that he was also planning to spend some time enjoying the scenery in the nearby Buila Mountains.

He arrived in Romania late on Monday, the station reported, and is due to stay for three days.

The visit, which has been kept secret and caught locals by surprise, does not include any official meetings and was described as a purely private affair.

It is understood Prince Charles’s visit to Romania is limited to the monastery and that he was travelling with a very small entourage. It is the fifth visit the Prince has made to Romania where he has been an enthusiastic supporter of conservation projects, including campaigning against the building of a motorway across the country and also against a Disney-style Dracula theme park alongside the medieval town Sighisoara.

The Prince and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were married last month.