Prince Charles, Camilla visit vets; plan to meet with Obama on packed last day in DC

WASHINGTON – Prince Charles and his wife are finishing up their visit to Washington, D.C. with a whirlwind day that includes meeting with President Barack Obama.

The royal couple arrived Tuesday and have had a packed itinerary, with stops at some of the most iconic and historically important sites in the nation’s capital.

Here’s a rundown of their busy last day Thursday.

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Adult immigrant students at the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School in northwest Washington got some surprise comic relief when Prince Charles stopped by.

As he walked into Karina Samuel’s beginner classroom, he jokingly apologized, “I’m sorry I’ve come to ruin your session.”

He then visited with all the students, asking them if they were learning a lot and how long they’ve been in the U.S.

The smiling prince made the students laugh several times by asking whether their teacher is good and telling one group: “English not easy” and “Lots of practice.”

In another classroom for intermediate life skills, such as opening checking accounts, the prince commented that the lessons sounded “complicated,” eliciting laughs. He got an even bigger laugh when he asked everyone, “Are you getting better and better with credit cards?” and commented that it sounded “terrifying.”

Later as he walked out of the school, he said to a lobby packed with smiling students and teachers, “Now you can all have your lunch.”

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Prince Charles and Camilla were equally chatty during their visit to the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home, a sprawling campus that overlooks downtown Washington. About 450 veterans live there, including 150 from WWII.

Navy veteran Michael Martinez, 72, who served in Vietnam and showed the royal couple three of his acrylic paintings, said he was excited to meet the royals for the first time.

“We almost consider them our royal family too because we don’t have one,” Martinez said.

He showed Charles and Camilla his painting of Ship Rock, New Mexico and told them it is taller than the Empire State Building.

Charles, who paints with watercolours, admired the paintings and told Martinez, “Extraordinary landscapes in the United States.”

The couple also stopped in the home’s woodshop, where Navy veteran Ivan Saucier showed Charles and Camilla the bed he is building with storage underneath for his living quarters.

Camilla asked Saucier if he had seen the world with the Navy over 22 years.

“I’ve never been to England,” he said.

“You’ve never been to England?” Camilla replied. “You’ll have to do the swap” and go to London, she said.

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The couple next will meet with Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden at the White House before a number of other events.

It’s Prince Charles’ 20th visit to the U.S.