THE Prince of Wales gave a masterclass in ballroom dancing, taking to the floor without the Duchess of Cornwall.
A fleetfooted Charles impressed the public with his moves as he twirled a female companion around to the sounds of 1940s swing jazz music.
But Camilla was not left out, she also shimmied a few feet from the prince with her own partner.
The royal couple showed their lighter side as they visited Christchurch in New Zealand to learn how its residents have rebuilt their lives following last year’s devastating earthquake.
The dancefloor is a pop-up facility called Dance-O-Mat, created by the charitable trust Gap Filler, which has coin operated lighting and sound courtesy of a washing machine that plays tunes from an mp3 player.
For almost two years the organisation has been finding creative uses for open spaces left following the earthquake that struck Christchurch in September 2010 and the second deadly quake in February 2011 that claimed more than 180 lives.
Camilla was the first to take to the dance floor after she accepted an invitation from Sam Johnson, an undergraduate who was widely praised for organising a student volunteer army to help in the aftermath of the devastating natural disaster.
The Duchess, who is well known fan of the BBC’s celebrity ballroom dancing show Strictly Come Dancing, held the student activist’s right hand with hers and they moved at a gentle pace.
After a few moments Camilla looked over to her husband who was watching from the sidelines and said “Come on darling you’ve got to dance too”.
But it was Lisa Shannon, 57, a psychology student from Christchurch who seized the moment and asked the heir to the throne if he wanted to dance.
