Retiring pub landlord Carl Wright received an unexpected visit from a royal well-wisher, who popped in for a quick Scotch.

The Prince of Wales, who had been attending a church concert in Bloxham, near Banbury, was about to leave the village when Mr Wright asked him if he fancied a drink in his pub, the Hawk and Partridge.

The Prince agreed to the invitation, causing panic among his bodyguards, and marched into the bar to order his drink before chatting with locals about rural issues like fox-hunting and farming. Mr Wright, 61, who has managed the pub for 37 years but retires today, decided to mark the royal visit by decking his pub in Union Jack flags. He joined hundreds of others on the street to catch a glimpse of Charles.

He said: "I said to him jokingly 'Have you got time for one?' and he said he would love one but he was running a little bit late. He said 'If I don't get in that church they will all boo me'.

"I was over the moon at having a nice little chat with him. When he came out of the church I shouted at him again and he smiled at me. His security man opened the door for him to get into the car but he changed his mind and walked into the pub." The Prince asked for a large, straight Scotch and Mr Wright obliged with a Glenlivet as the two became involved in a lengthy chinwag about country life.

Mr Wright's wife Heather added: "We just couldn't believe he was here, in our pub it was surreal. It must have been his minders' worst nightmare."