The Prince of Wales showed off his conducting and linguistic skills to a delighted crowd at the Sandringham Flower Show. Thousands flocked to the Royal estate, as the show celebrated its 130th anniversary.

The Prince of Wales showed off his conducting and linguistic skills to a delighted crowd at the Sandringham Flower Show yesterday.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were also greeted by a cheeky Jack Russell who flipped onto his back to have his tummy tickled during their tour of the showground.

The royal couple spent around 90 minutes meeting garden designers, judges, charity stall holders and well-wishers during the traditional 'walkabout' of the Queen's Norfolk retreat.

They arrived at the 130th flower show by horse drawn carriage at 11am and waved to the cheering crowd before being greeted by members of the flower show committee.

The Duchess of Cornwall, wearing a turquoise jacket and teal blue dress, was then given a posy by five-year-old Betti Butler (correct).

The Ingoldisthorpe primary school pupil's mum Ruth, dad Phillip and sister Milli (correct) watched on with pride as the youngster handed over the flowers in front of a large audience.

Mrs Butler said: 'She was really excited about coming here and had been practising her curtsey for ages but forgot to do it when she met them.'

The heir to the British throne, who was wearing a grey suit and blue shirt, and the Duchess then had a tour around the Royal Marquee before strolling around the showground.

The couple were given lots of flowers and gifts, including a card by Peter Wilkinson, from Leeds, which read 'Welcome back to the Sandringham Flower Show' and had a picture of the prince on the front.

His mum, Barbara, who gave Camilla a bunch of flowers, said: 'We did the same thing last year and they both seemed to like what we gave them.'

Norwich resident Regine Godfrey and her neice Marie Le Grand, 11, who is on holiday from France, were also pleased to chat to the Prince Charles and meet Camilla.

Mrs Godfrey said: 'My niece was delighted because she has never seen a royal family member in person before and really wanted to see a prince.

'She knows he is the future king of England and was so excited when she saw him coming towards her.

'He came up to us, shook her hand and asked for her name and then they started conversing in French.

'He speaks French really well and asked her if she was on holiday and if she was enjoying her time here.'

The couple then met staff from The Norfolk hospice, Tapping House, based at Snettisham, who were in fancy dress to promote an upcoming fundraising event called Pirate Promenade.

They were Amanda Standen, Lindsey Atkin, Zena Penty and Jackie Cameron who all enjoyed meeting the pair and telling them about the charity.

Mrs Standen said: 'Charles came up to us and asked us why we were dressed as pirates and said my moustache was upside down but Camilla said she liked it.

'They both said they felt under-dressed and we invited Charles to our event in September but he said he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it.'

Rachel and Steve Southern, from South Yorkshire, brought Dill, their four-year-old Jack Russell, to the show and he delighted those around him by rolling onto his back for Camilla to tickle his tummy.

Mrs Southern said: 'He was sat there and behaving himself for ages but as soon as he saw Camilla and Charles he just flipped over and looked at them.

'Camilla loved him and gave him a stroke straight away and asked us if he had any puppies. I think Dill knew they were dog people.'

As the royal couple neared the end of their showground stroll they were greeted by a small group of ladies from a WI group near Cambridge who burst into a rousing and impromptu chorus of Jerusalem.

Hazel Steel, one of the group members, said: 'We sing it at our annual meeting and when we saw him coming towards us we just started singing it.

'We hadn't planned to do it because we weren't sure if we would see them. I just wish we were in better voice but Prince Charles seemed to enjoy it and he even conducted.'