With his arms wrapped around a victim of the riots that caused chaos around the country last week, Prince Charles helped buoy the spirits of those worst affected.Accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, he chatted with residents in Tottenham, North London at local leisure centre which has been transformed into an emergency refuge.Showing that William and Harry aren't the only Windsors to understand the value of the personal touch, the future King crouched down low so he could talk to little ones, some whose families were burned out of their homes.
The locals seemed very pleased about the royal visit.
One young man, who described himself as an actor and poet, shook the heir to the throne's hand, before presenting him with a rap CD. He encouraged Charles to "go home and have a listen", adding: "God bless you".Meanwhile Parvez Iqbal, the owner of an Indian food shop on London Road, who has been unable to open the shop after it was targeted by rioters was overwhelmed. "They were both very sympathetic and said they appreciated what we are trying to do. "Prince Charles told me there is something in the pipeline, hopefully we might benefit in some way."
The visit came as the Prince of Wales' youth charity, The Prince's Trust, announced a "doubling of support for young people across five of the areas hardest hit by the riots".In all, the organisation will invest £2.5m to give disadvantaged young people positive opportunities to keep their lives on track".The government have also announced that Croydon and Tottenham will get £20m for repairs.
And it seems that the future King in putting his money were his mouth is.