Vaynor Park near Welshpool

The Prince has chosen this venue for his visit to Wales ahead of the nearby Powis Castle where he has stayed in recent years.

On Friday the Prince opened the National Botanical Garden of Wales in the garden's centrepiece the Great Glasshouse designed by Sir Norman Foster.

The �44m project opened to the public in May after a three-year gestation period.

"The National Botanical Garden of Wales will be a much needed champion in the conservation of plants worldwide," said Prince Charles.

"I do hope that it will play a vital role in protecting the world's biodiversity."

The Prince chatted to patients at Brecon hospital

He continued his tour with a visit to the War Memorial Hospital in Brecon where he spent more than an hour chatting to patients.

And at his next stop, an organic farm at Llandrindod Wells, the Prince offered encouragement to abattoir owners to continue pressurising the Government to meet the cost of extra EU inspections.

On the second day of his Welsh tour on Saturday, Prince Charles is to visit Machynlleth, Caernarfon and Snowdonia.

On Monday he will perform the opening of the Royal Welsh Show at Builth Wells, and there is speculation that Camilla Park Bowles will attend too.

Investiture: Prince was not "Welsh enough"

The visit comes as the government papers reveal that a campaign was launched to make Prince Charles more in touch with Wales ahead of his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969.

Documents released by the Public Records Office show details of how Buckingham Palace and the Welsh Office laid plans for the young Prince to attend a Welsh university, meet prominent Welsh people, take up residence and learn the language.

The plans were put into action, with Charles attending Aberystwyth university to study Welsh, attaining sufficient fluency to make a speech in the language.

At the investiture itself the authorities were braced for nationalist violence, with more than 3,000 police drafted in to guard against hostile demonstrations.

But the ceremony at Caernarfon Castle on July 1, 1969 sparked only minor incidents and attracted international interest.