The garden, designed by husband-and-wife team Isabel and Julian Bannerman, has been conceived as a light-hearted tribute to Thomas Howard, the 14th Earl of Arundel, who was known as 'The Collector'.

More than 400 people, including local dignitaries and children from Arundel CE Primary School and St Philip's Catholic Primary School as well as Brownies and Scouts, gathered to welcome the heir to the throne.

After being given a tour of the new garden, Prince Charles said: "Here we have again an example of what used to be a car park transformed into something of enormous beauty, attraction and timelessness."

The driving force behind the project was the Duchess of Norfolk, who said it was fantastic that the prince had agreed to open the garden.

"It means a great deal to us and the town. It's wonderful that he said he'd come down and open it and we got it finished in time.

"Hopefully it will attract visitors from all over the world," she said.

For the full story and pages of pictures, see the May 21 edition of the West Sussex Gazette

Prince Charles at the garden

Prince Charles with the Duchess of Norfolk and garden designer Julian Bannerman