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

More than 400 people including school children from Arundel Primary School, St Philip's Primary School , as well as brownies and scouts, and local dignitaries gathered to welcome the prince for the visit.

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 Prince Charles had agreed to open the garden.

"It means a great deal to us and the town. It's wonderful that he's said he'll come down and open it and we got it finished in time.
"Hopefully it will attract visitors from all over the world," she said.

Mr and Mrs Bannerman said the garden 'aims to stand alone, to be pleasing, timeless and memorable,' and described it as 'magical.'

To see a gallery of pictures click on the green button.

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert said: "I think it's a fantastic day for Arundel and hugely exciting that the Prince of Wales is here."

The Jacobean garden, which has been in the planning for three years, occupies about a third of the area of the Georgain and Victorian walled kitchen garden which for the last 40 years had been a car park.

It is a recreation of what the Collector's Earl's formal garden may have been like at Arundel House, his town palce overlooking the Thames in London.

It features a domed pergola, fountains and various gateways and pavilions. There is also a large open lawn in the centre which could be used during the Arundel festival as well sub-tropical plants.

The centrepiece is a rockwork mountain, supporting a green oak temple known as Oberon's Palace which contains the Dancing Crown, a gold ducal crown which rises and falls, held on in place by the pressure from a water fountain.

For a full report see the Observer on sale May 22.

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