While the rest of his family were busy taking pot shots at grouse, Prince Charles opted for a rather more gentle country pursuit.

The heir to the throne walked for miles at Loch Muick, near his Birkhall home on the Balmoral estate, to go mushroom-picking at the weekend.

Carrying a wicker basket and a walking stick, he bent down every so often to cut yellow chanterelles on the edge of pine woodland.