The front of the art deco building received a lick of paint, graffiti was removed and repairs were made to spruce up the school before the Royal couple's arrival.

The work, costing £26,733 had been scheduled for completion before the new term in August, but was speeded up for the appointment.

A Highland Council spokeswoman said: "The work at Inverness High School involved cleaning mould, dark stains and loose material from the south and west elevations before high pressure washing the area.

"Then repairs were made to the cement render before the exterior walls, doors and windows were all painted. To do this, three cherry pickers had to be used. The small building by the entrance gates was also cleaned of graffiti and painted. The total cost was £26,733."

Rector Ritchie Cunningham said: "The council has painted the front of the building. The back has still to be done at some point, but at least the front of the building has been freshened up.

"The council had some money in the budget for doing parts of the school painting this year so my understanding is this was brought forward because of the visit taking place."

During the couple's first visit to the Highland capital together, Camilla enjoyed a pink fruit smoothie in a moment of indulgence while looking at the school's organics project.

The strawberry, raspberry, yoghurt, apple juice and lemon juice mixture was handed to her by pupils during the lunchtime tour of its REAL (Real Education Active Lives) organics food project.

"I feel better for that," she told one of her entourage, before leaving with her husband to unveil a commemorative plaque of their visit to the project.

Not to be outdone, Prince Charles left Inverness with his own food parcel, presented to him by 13-year-old James Cooper.

The box of vegetables, including leeks, carrots and onions, were presented to him at the end of a 75-minute trip.

The Prince meets the pupils of Inverness High during his visit on Tuesday. Gary Anthony

"It was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but they were very nice and very polite," said Natalie Mackay, a rural skills, biology and chemistry teacher.

She explained what crops were grown by the 500-pupil school with the help of 14-year-olds Lianne Grant, of Springfield Gardens, and Andrew Chalmers, of Laurel Avenue.

During his next engagement, the Prince saw the funny side when he was handed a Forestry Commission in-house magazine while on a visit to its new eco-friendly building at Smithton.

The Duke of Rothesay, Prince Charles' title in Scotland, had a chuckle at the title of The Slasher, which takes its name from an old forestry tool.

Planning forester Peter Walling, one of the staff members who chatted to the Prince at the District Office in Tower Road, Smithton, said: "The magazine featured on the programme Have I Got News For You three or four years ago and he found the name quite amusing.

"The copy he looked at was from Christmas 2007 and includes pictures of the office under construction so we have given it to him."

During the visit, which came after an invitation from Forestry Commission Scotland's Chief Executive Hugh Insley, he was briefed on the environmental benefits of the £1.2 million open-plan offices which opened in January last year. Described as one of the greenest commercial buildings in the country, it was built using home-grown timber and boasts a wood chip heating system costing just £35 a week to run.

h.bushnell@highland-news.co.uk

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